Lightly raced 3-year-old Ignored produced one of the day's highlights when she overcame a tardy start to win against the older horses at Te Rapa on Saturday.
The Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman-trained Savabeel filly was expected to be prominent in the rating 72 1600m event, but looked to have blown her chances when coming out of the starting barrier awkwardly and losing five lengths to the rest of the field.
Rider Darren Danis didn't panic as he allowed his mount to find a steady rhythm before latching on to the back of the pack with 700m to run. Angled towards the inner in the home straight as the field fanned out in front of her, Ignored took full advantage when the gaps opened closer to the rail to win by just under a length in a stunning performance.
Forsman said he thought the filly's chances were gone when he saw her miss the start. "She showed plenty of grit and some good acceleration to get up and win."
Forsman isn't sure of the plans going forward for the filly but one member of the Baker-Forsman team that more than confirmed he is on track for the Brisbane 3-year-old features was Zed gelding Bobby Dee, who also produced a strong-staying effort to score over 2200m in rating 82 company.
