Patient approach pays off

Waiting tactics with well-related three-year-old Esternay were rewarded under lights at Cranbourne.

Trained for us by Mark Walker, she emphasised her talent and tenacity to overcome a wide run from the outside gate and triumph over 1400 metres at her third appearance.

“Brendan, Jo and Henry and the whole team at Cambridge Stud have been incredibly supportive of us,” Assistant Trainer Ben Gleeson said.

“It’s been a long journey with her and she’s a lovely style of an All Too Hard filly, mentally she’s been pretty fragile, so we’ve had to be patient.”

Esternay was caught three wide without cover at the back of the field before she circled the field 600 metres from home and produced an irresistible finish to mow down her rivals.

“She did it tough and really knuckled down, she’ll appreciate getting out to a mile,” Gleeson said.

Esternay was partnered by Michael Dee, who has ridden the filly in all of her race day outings.

“I was a little bit worried about the gate, it wasn’t ideal so it was a good, tough effort and there’s plenty more in store for her,” he said.

We went to A$400,000 to secure the filly out of Vinery Stud’s draft at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.

She is a daughter of the Group 1-performed More Than Ready mare Sezanne, whose deep pedigree features the top-flight winners Bonneval, Charmont, St Reims and Champagne.

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