Flying filly lands jackpot
THE win of talented threeyear-old filly Tilltherewarsyou in a 3YO maiden in Launceston last Saturday delivered a great result for her owners with a $20,000 bonus attached to the race.
The introduction of a new Tasbred Bonus scheme that offers $16,000 to the owners and $4000 to the horse’s breeder has proven to be the shot in the arm the breeding industry needed to encourage more owners into the game.
Eventually there will be up to 76 bonus races programmed on the calendar each season that will offer bonus races for two, three and four-year-olds.
The scheme is in its second season with bonuses this season offered on selected two-year-old and three-yearold events.
Tilltherewarsyou (WarWhitemore Dynasty) is owned and raced by Sue Armitage and her parents Allan and Jean, who have been breeding and racing horses in Tasmania for over 40 years.
The family usually only race the horses they breed but the bonus incentive has encouraged them to tackle the Tasmanian Magic Millions Yearling Sale where the incentive scheme horses originate.
Tilltherewarsyou was passed in at the 2018 sale but trainer Peter Luttrell ventured out to Armidale post sale to see the filly and encouraged the Armitage family to buy her for a modest $6000.
Last Saturday’s maiden victory netted the filly’s owners a $16,000 bonus on top of the $11,400 winner’s prizemoney that took her career earnings from only three starts to just over $38,000.
Luttrell purposefully targeted the bonus races and the plan has paid big dividends.
“Peter (Luttrell) said he wanted to aim the filly at the bonus races, and it’s paid off,” Sue Armitage said.
“We think the bonuses are a brilliant idea and we are thrilled that we’ve been able to get involved.”
Tilltherewarsyou recovered well from her outing last
Saturday. “I put her in a yard on Sunday morning and she was feeling so good she was bucking her brands off, so I had to put her back inside for fear she might hurt herself,” Luttrell said.
“I’ll take her to a benchmark 60 handicap over 1100 metres in Launceston on Wednesday week and see how she fares before making any other commitments.”