Lady ready for Caulfield quest

PREMIER Tasmanian trainer Scott Brunton will throw his talented two-year-old Lady Pluck in at the deep end next month when he aims her at the Group 3 $150,000 Quezette Stakes over 1100m at Caulfield.

It will be her first outing as a three-year-old and only her third race start on August 18.

The Quezette Stakes field is restricted to three-year-old fillies, the majority of which are kicking off their Melbourne spring campaigns.

Run under set weights with penalties, the Quezette Stakes gives punters an early guide to other feature fillies’ races including the $1 million Thousand Guineas (1600m) in October.

Lady Pluck debuted in February with a luckless second in the $150,000 Gold Sovereign in Launceston and at her only other start she resumed in Hobart last Sunday with an emphatic maiden win over 1100m.

The Quezette is a far cry from a maiden-class race in Hobart at the end of winter, but Brunton knows a star when he sees one.

“Lady Pluck has shown us something special from day one and I think she showed that on debut when she tackled the Gold Sovereign at her first start and she almost got the money,” Brunton said. “I’ve been careful to take her along gradually and last Sunday she did exactly what I thought she would.”

Lady Pluck showed terrific early speed to lead and despite being annoyed by Silent Savings on her outside to the home turn, her rider Ismail Toker only had to release the reins slightly for her to put lengths on her rivals.

Brunton has a great team shaping for the spring and many of them will be in Melbourne trying to earn some of the rich prizemoney on offer.

Hellova Street is favourite to win this season’s Tasmanian horse of the year title, given his success in Tasmania and interstate, and the gelding will be given the chance to win a Group 1 early in the coming season.

Hellova Street will tackle the $500,000 Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes over 1400m at Caulfield on September 22.

Hellova Street’s half-brother Street Tough proved he could be up to another interstate campaign following his courageous third in a race at Flemington last Saturday.

Mandela Effect, a brilliant last-start winner at Caulfield, will be aimed at a race in Melbourne in November, but Brunton has yet to pinpoint the target.