Racing: Simogramor on a roll for Te Rapa

Simogramor. Photo / Trish Dunell

If promising filly Simogramor follows the family pattern she will win the Wentwood Grange Juvenile (1000m) at Te Rapa tomorrow.

The Fastnet Rock two-year-old is a daughter of the top racemare Katie Lee and she has already shown some of her mother's ability, being a trials winner before finishing a solid second in her debut behind the smart Espumoso at Te Rapa earlier this month.

Katie Lee was also runner-up in her debut and went on to notch her first win in her second start and that was also on the Te Rapa course. And for good measure, Katie Lee's second foal, Legramor, also found Te Rapa a happy hunting ground in her second start and, like both Katie Lee and Simogramor, she had been runner-up on debut.

Simogramor is also eligible for the Karaka Million, but won't be rushed to be on hand for the $1 million feature at Ellerslie on January 27.

"I'm not going to push her. I'll let her tell me what she wants to do," co-trainer Debbie Rogerson said. "I'd like to see her get out of maidens then freshen her. She's a nice two-year-old."

Rogerson says Simogramor has some of her mother's traits, particularly her dislike for wet ground.

"She likes good ground, just like Katie Lee did," she said. "She got wet tracks for her first two trials and didn't like it. But when she struck a good track in her next trial, she won well."

It's no surprise that Rogerson is taking extra interest in Simogramor and her older half-sister Legramor.

"Katie Lee was special to me," she said. "She had some tough races and never stopped trying."

- NZ Racing Desk