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Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators

Six-year-old mare Born To Boogie managed five wins from 26 starts in New Zealand before turning the corner after arriving in Western Australia last February.

The daughter of Rock N Roll Heaven has flourished under the care of eight-time WA premiership trainer Ross Olivieri, and she has developed into a major contender for the $125,000 Westral Mares Classic over 2536m at Gloucester Park on November 26.

Born To Boogie, driven expertly by Chris Lewis, was in eleventh place with 950m to travel in the 2130m Direct Trade Supplies Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night before she unleashed a dazzling burst which took her to the front 320m from home on her way to winning by three lengths from the fast-finishing Typhoon Banner.

Starting favourite at $3, Born To Boogie, who is raced by Merv Butterworth’s racing syndicate, rated a slick 1.55.2, with an admiring Olivieri saying that the time she ran the final 2000m was pretty special. The final three 400m sections, off the front, were run in 29.3sec., 28.7sec. and 28.5sec.

“She had a couple of issues when she arrived here from New Zealand, and that’s part of the reason why she has been sparingly raced,” Olivieri said. Born To Boogie’s seven appearances in WA have produced five wins and two close second placings.   

“We will space Born To Boogie’s runs leading up to the Westral Mares Classic,” Olivieri said.

Mandy Joan, trained and driven by Aiden de Campo, is also a contender for the major feature events for mares in the summer. She caught the eye in Friday night’s race when she sustained a spirited three-wide burst from ninth at the bell to finish third.