Racing: Talented filly eyeing $100,000 bonus

If you like insurance companies being nervous then you needed to watch Jazzella win yesterday's $20,000 Oxford Trust at Ruakaka.

The locally trained filly turned on a remarkable performance that, barring accidents, should net her a $100,000 triple crown Ruakaka bonus.

Even the insurance company underwriting the bonus would agree with that.

Jazzella, in only her second race start, blew the opposition apart with a 57.63-second 1000m, which staggered everyone but trainers Dean and Donna Logan, their owners, jockey Catherine Treymane and trackwork rider Craig West.

And the owners, Donna Logan's partner Peter Wood, Gerry Powell and Craig Dawson simply weren't owning up to their surprise at the depth of the three-length victory.

Treymane jumped off Jazzella and told Donna Logan: "This filly is so freakish it's not funny - she's all guts and class."

The race continued a remarkable run of success for the stock of first-season sire Black Minnaloushe.

Jazzella was bred by one of the Logans' longtime stable clients, Henry Northcross.

Donna Logan did not originally have the filly on her 'must see' list at the 2005 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sales at Karaka, but quickly changed her mind when she saw her.

"I said to Woodsy: 'I've just got to have this filly, do you want to be in?'

"When he asked how much we'd have to pay I said I thought around $50,000 and we got her for $40,000.

"I trained her half brother who won three trials and was sold to Hong Kong without racing here and he was half the horse this filly is."

Jazella showed immediate promise when put into work and the Logans' instincts were proven right when longtime stable trackwork rider Craig West declared he hadn't ridden one that felt as good since Vapour Trail.

Big stable client Dawson was not originally in the ownership.

He watched Jazella win her barrier trial at Avondale alongside Wood and said: "Jez, you sleep with the trainer and you get all the good horses."

Wood replied: "Okay, you can have 10 per cent."

Even that share might turn out to be very valuable.

On top of yesterday's $20,000 stake, there was a $15,000 race bonus.

In order to entice 2-year-olds to Ruakaka in winter, the Whangarei Racing Club this year put on a three-race $100,000 triple bonus, the first leg of which was yesterday.

The irony is that it was won by a horse that would have been there anyway.

"The series is perfect because I think the next race is three and a half weeks away and the last leg a month after that. Perfect," said Donna Logan.

The next sentence was the worry for the insurance company.

"There is a fair bit of improvement in this filly," said Logan.

"I haven't come even close to screwing her down yet."

Jazella showed tremendous speed to get over from a wide draw, slipping clear on the corner and never showing signs of weakening.