Seafall, though not the initial top seed for the Winter Championship campaign from Lindsay Park, is now the mare carrying the Hayes family’s ambitions for a breakthrough win in the Finals Day feature.
The five-year-old bay, sired by The Autumn Sun, will represent Ben, Will, and JD Hayes as their sole runner in the $200,000 Listed event at Flemington this Saturday.
The Hayes family has a history of success on Finals Day as the card has evolved, but their grandfather Colin Hayes was the last to win this specific race in 1985 with Kiwi Slave.
Ben Hayes is pleased that Seafall is at the forefront of their strong team for Finals Day, which also includes Ndola in the Santa Ana Lane Final, The Western Front in the Banjo Paterson Final, Stylish and Grid Girl in the Leilani Final, and Stars Of Dom, Vivid Storm, and Resolutely contesting the Next Generation Final.
“You always like to have runners at Flemington and it has been a good meeting for us over the years,” he said. “I think we’ve going to have a good team there and hopefully we can get a winner or two.”
Seafall is set to make her first start in Stakes grade since an eighth-place finish in the Group 3 Kembla Grange Classic when she was a three-year-old and trained by Chris Waller.
She joined Lindsay Park last spring and failed to win in her first seven starts for the stable, but has since achieved four victories from her last five outings.
Her most recent win occurred in The David Bourke at Flemington on June 20, a result that secured her position in the Winter Championship Final.
“She’s thriving, she’s a mare in form and when mares are in form they just keep going,” Hayes stated. “She’s a lovely, sound horse and I think it’s a great opportunity for a mare like her to go for Black Type. If she draws a barrier and gets the right run she can go very close. There aren’t many Stakes races this time of year, so it’s a good opportunity to hopefully get some Black Type for her.”
Seafall is one of 24 nominations for the Winter Championship Final, which notably features defending champion Jimmy The Bear.
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