Our shuttle stallion Almanzor was the dominant force in the fillies’ feature at Ellerslie where his daughters Positivity and Qali Al Farrasha quinellaed the G3 Sunline Vase over 2100 metres.Their performances saw their odds for the G1 New Zealand Oaks tumble with the former now an $8 equal favourite for the Trentham Classic with Qali Al Farrasha moving in to $12.Trained by Andrew Forsman, Positivity was making her fifth appearance and was trapped deep before rider Masa Hashizume let her stride along to sit in second spot.She got to the front early in the run home and stayed on strongly to defeat Qali Al Farrasha, who came on well from back in the field.“That was so good and she has got better with every run and she didn’t have a lot of luck in her previous two,” stable representative Gemma Hewetson said.Positivity had copped interrupted runs when midfield in both the G3 Desert Gold Stakes and the G2 David & Karyn Ellis Fillies’ Classic.“Andrew has always had a big opinion of her, she’s kept improving and is a lovely filly.”Bred by the late Sir Patrick and Justine Lady Hogan with Peter Walker, Positivity was bought out of Woburn Farm’s draft at New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale by Ben Kwok for $160,000.She is a daughter of the stakes-winning O’Reilly mare Pussy O’Reilly, who was also runner-up in the G1 Makfi Challenge Stakes.

Tony and Calvin McEvoy’s patient handling of Bavicia looks set to be handsomely rewarded.The Ballarat trainers have taken their time with Almanzor’s son who was in a league of his own when produced second-up over 1800 metres on the Hillside course at Sandown.The lightly tried four-year-old lobbed along in fourth spot before he strode to the 250 metres from home and romped home by three and a-quarter lengths in the hands of Luke Currie.“He’s a horse with a future and he was fantastic,” Calvin McEvoy said.“He won over 2000 metres last prep and he’s got so much improvement to come.”Bavicia finished a creditable sixth in the Listed Morphettville Guineas 11 months ago before he was given a lengthy break and ran sixth when resuming over a mile at Bendigo earlier this month.“He’s been a big, immature horse who we bought at the breeze-ups in New Zealand and has needed time. He’s fully mature now and can go a lot further,” McEvoy said.Bavicia was originally purchased out of Curraghmore’s New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale draft for $260,000 and realised $330,000 when reoffered by Phoenix Park at the Ready to Run Sale.He is a son of the Guillotine mare Tricoteuse, who has unraced juvenile colt by Almanzor, from the family of the G1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes winer Arlingtonboulevard.

Lindsay Park asked a serious question of Rise At Dawn at Moonee Valley and the exciting son of Almanzor provided an emphatic answer.The three-year-old took on older opposition over 1600 metres and overcame a tardy getaway to score a comfortable victory to remain unbeaten in two outings this preparation and his third overall win from four appearances.“He jumped a bit slowly and Daniel (Stackhouse) was able to get him through his gears to lead quite comfortably,” co-trainer Ben Hayes said.“He gave a good kick and was strong through the line, which we wanted to see.“It was a dress rehearsal for the Alister Clark Stakes (G2, 2040m) so he got the big tick of approval to head in that direction.” Safely through the March 23 event back at Moonee Valley, sterner tests await Rise At Dawn.“We’re hoping he can end up in a Derby, he’s bred to stay. It’s hard to get to the top level and maybe he’s one that can,” Hayes said.Rise At Dawn missed the jump before he mustered speed along the fence to lead and stayed on strongly in the straight to win by a length and a-quarter.“He was gawking around and not concentrating and just stood there, but the others stayed off the rail so I was able to take it up and he was too good,” Stackhouse said.Bred by Monovale Holdings, Rise At Dawn was a A$90,000 Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale graduate and is an older brother of this season’s G3 Taranaki 2YO Classic placegetter Kay’s Ruebe.They are out of the Listed Newmarket Handicap winner and multiple Group 1 placegetter Kay’s Awake.