Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Constant treatment over the past couple of months has helped high-priced New Zealand-bred filly Five Bangles to overcome sore hooves. She was a $6.40 chance from the No. 1 barrier when Shannon Suvaljko drove her to an all-the-way win in the 2130m Follow Sky Racing On Facebook Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
After a third quarter of 28.3sec. Five Bangles dashed over the final 400m in 27.9sec. and held on to win by a half-head from the $2.10 favourite Little Darling, who raced in sixth position, one-out and two-back, before Chris Lewis sent her forward, three wide, from the 600m.
“Five Bangles has a lot of speed but has been troubled by laminitis (inflammation of the tissue between the hoof and the underlying coffin bone),” said trainer Mike Reed. “She races with pads under her shoes and IO have been standing her in clay every day for about three hours for the past six weeks.”
This has minimised inflammation in the filly’s feet and has reduced the soreness.
Five Bangles won the start and ambled through the lead time in 39.6sec. and the opening quarter of the final mile in a slow 31.2sec. before sections of 30.1sec., 28.3sec. and 27.9sec. She rated 1.58.7 and improved her record to 18 starts for five wins, eight placings and stakes of $43,054.
Five Bangles is by champion sire Bettors Delight and is the sixth foal out of the Badlands Hanover mare Beaudiene Bad Babe, who amassed $404,898 in prizemoney from 22 wins and 12 placings from 42 starts. Her most significant victory was in the Group 1 Four-Year-Old Diamond at Cambridge in June 2010.
Bad To The Bone is an elder full-brother to Five Bangles and he has earned $307,772 from ten wins and 16 placings from 54 starts. The potential shown by Bad To The Bone aroused the interest of Reed and Jim Giumelli at the 2020 national yearling sale in Christchurch, and Giumelli went to $220,000 to buy Five Bangles.