Captain Crunch filly captures Westbred Final
Promising Captain Crunch filly A Precious Gem won the $100,000 Group 2 Westbred 3YO Fillies Classic Final at Gloucester Park on Friday night, becoming her young sire’s 10th Southern Hemisphere stakes-winner.
The lightly raced filly enjoyed an ideal one-out, one-back trip before sweeping three wide in the straight and wearing down a gallant Justasmooth Miki (Always B Miki), who had sat parked without cover for most of the race, to win by a head.
It was the Dylan Egerton-Green trained 3-year-old’s third career win from just seven race-day starts and improved her earnings to just under $80,000.
A Precious Gem comes from a terrific maternal family, with her stakes-placed Bettor’s Delight dam, Bettors Gem, also the dam of stakes-winners Swingband and Atlantic Gem and a half-sister to this season’s outstanding WA juvenile Hez The Boss, winner of Friday night’s Group 1 Westbred 2YO Colts and Geldings Final.
Friday was a standout night for Captain Crunch on both sides of the Tasman.
In New Zealand, he sired a winning double at Addington, with Eun Sogno winning the Ian Dobson Memorial “Johnny Globe” 3YO Classic and surpassing $100,000 in earnings, whilst Donna’s Crunch produced a stunning turn of foot to win on debut earlier on the card.
Across the Tasman, the 3-year-old filly Captain Jazz added to A Precious Gem’s Group-race success by claiming her eighth career win and lowering her lifetime mark to 1:52.1 at Albion Park.
With his oldest foals now 4-year-olds, Captain Crunch currently ranks among the top four sires on both the New Zealand and Australian 3YO Pacing Sires Tables and is second, behind only Bettor’s Delight, on the New Zealand 4YO Pacing Sires Premiership.
Captain Crunch is available this season at NZ$5,000 + GST, making his foals eligible for the Harness 5000 Series, and AU$6,600 including GST.