Iffin Doubt Dance has opened her spring campaign in tremendous fashion at Matamata with a first-up success over a distance well short of her best.Our daughter of Iffraaj was produced in fine fettle by trainer Lance Noble to resume over 1400 metres and she produced a powerhouse performance in her first appearance for eight months.Iffin Doubt Dance drifted well back in the running before rider Warren Kennedy urged her forward and she produced an irresistible finish.“I think that A, she was very well and bright and B, the race panned out with the pace on,” Noble said.He also paid tribute to the both the skill and work ethic of Kennedy.“Warren didn’t panic and it was another great ride. He’s a lovely guy who comes out to the farm to ride them and he’s very easy to get on with.”Iffin Doubt Dance has been lightly tried with a brace of wins and eight placings from 15 starts and will be best suited over middle distances later in her preparation.“Full credit to Lance who had her ready for this race and I rode her in neutral and just had to find the gaps,” Kennedy said.“She will be even better over more ground as we know, and she’s strengthened up a fair bit since last term.”Iffin Doubt Dance was bred by the Dowager Duchess Of Bedford and we purchased her out of Brighthill Farm’s draft at New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale for $130,000.She is a half-sister to Dance Card, who won on three occasions for us, and they are out of the Group performer Dancing Attendance, a daughter of Danehill Dancer who is a half-sister to the five-time Group winner Precedence.

Well-related filly Lovazou added performance to her pedigree when she made a successful return for us at Geelong.The Danny O’Brien-trained daughter of Zoustar isn’t the finished product yet, but showed she has an abundance of talent when she won with authority over 1143 metres.Rider Michael Dee settled her in behind the pace from the inside gate before he angled across heels in the straight and Lovazou did the rest, forging clear to win with a minimum of fuss.“She’s a filly with a great pedigree and she’s battled a few issues, both mentally and physically,” stable representative Beau Dunn said.“It was a nice result and she’s a Saturday horse, hopefully she’ll be back to stakes level soon.”Lovazou finished third on debut in last season’s G3 Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes at Flemington before she suffered a cardiac arrhythmia in the Listed Redoute’s Choice Stakes at Sandown and was spelled.The three-year-old was given two jump-outs to fit her for her return at Geelong.“Riding her in a race is easy, but she can be a handful getting her out and from the barrier,” successful rider Michael Dee said.“She jumped into a nice position and did the rest in the straight. She quickened up nicely and I didn’t use the stick, she won with plenty in hand.”We purchased Lovazou out of Kia Ora Stud’s draft at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale for A$400,000 and is a daughter of the multiple winner and Group placegetter Lovani.She is a half-sister to the Listed Lord Stakes winner Holbein and they are out of the Irish-bred Danehill Dancer mare who was successful three times at Group 3 level and also a three-time Group 1 placegetter.

Luberon took a winning step toward a Classic goal when she returned in a blaze of glory over 1200 metres at Te Rapa.Our promising daughter of Embellish is being aimed at the G1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas by trainer Lance Noble and was produced in forward condition to open her campaign.Luberon broke well for rider Warren Kennedy to settle one off the fence in fifth spot and she finished determinedly in the closing 150 metres to win with authority.

“She was a little bit vulnerable and there is improvement to come so to beat the older horses was a good effort,” Noble said.

“There’s a three-year-old race for her next on Matamata Cup day and then the G3 Soliloquy Stakes, all going well she’ll head to Christchurch after that.”Luberon credited our exciting young stallion Embellish with his first winner when she scored on debut last season and was then sidelined after finishing third in the Listed Challenge Stakes.

“She slipped out of the gate and pulled a muscle so that was a really good effort that day,” Kennedy said.

He had few worries at Te Rapa and was impressed with the filly’s resuming performance.“She did a really good job and picked up nicely in the straight and there is a ton of improvement to come,” Kennedy said.Luberon is a daughter of the unraced Fastnet Rock mare Elegant Achiever, who boasts the European Group winners Wunder’s Dream, Grecian Dancer, Muffri’ha, Asymetric and Mill Stream on her pedigree page.

Also the dam of the multiple winner Ellmaknifico, Elegant Achiever’s Embellish colt named Ginza was purchased by Te Akau’s David Ellis for $80,000 at Karaka earlier this year and the mare produced another son of Embellish last season.