Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
In Italian, Sovrana means a reigning queen, and it was the four-year-old mare Sovrana who reigned supreme at Gloucester Park on Friday night when she ruled over the eleven other mares in the $30,000 Sky Racing Listen Live Coulson Pace.
Trained in Capel by Aiden De Campo and driven with great authority by Dylan Egerton-Green, Sovrana, the third favourite at $10.30, began speedily from the No. 5 barrier and surged to the front after 250m.
Machs Legacy, the $1.80 favourite, was beaten for early speed when Hayden Charles got $34 chance Queeninthecorner away to a flying start from barrier four.
Egerton-Green quickly sized up the situation and dashed Sovrana to the front, leaving Machs Legacy under lock and key, racing in fifth place, three back on the pegs.
“That wasn’t the plan,” said Emily Johnson, who was standing in for De Campo. “No, not actually, that wasn’t what we had planned. Sovrana is better, sat up. But once the start turned out like it did, going forward was the best option.”
Sovrana’s impressive victory came after she was a $2.60 chance from the No. 1 barrier when she set the pace over 2130m before wilting to finish last behind Stormyskyes in the field of five over 2130m three weeks earlier.
“We found no problems with her; I think it was just an off day,” said Johnson.
Sovrana, a big mare, is proving a good buy for Rob Tomlinson’s Oz-West Pacing and co-owners Damien Keating and Peter Morris. She was purchased for $30,000 at the 2020 APG Perth yearling sale, and now has earned $147,194 from nine wins and 13 placings from 36 starts.
Sovrana is by American stallion Betting Line and is the seventh foal out of the Norther Luck mare Chemical Romance (who was retired after three unplaced runs as a two-year-old at Gloucester Park in 2009).
Sovrana has inherited much of her brilliance from Chemical Romance’s dam, Ferrari Trunkey (37 starts for 22 wins, seven placings and $267,527). Ferrari Trunkey went on to produce eight winners, including Trunkey Maseratti (85 starts for 22 wins, ten placings and $273,457). Trunkey Maseratti’s wins included two group classics in 1993 and the WA Derby in May 1994.
Sovrana is a half-sister to six winners, including Bettor Reward (61 starts for 15 wins, 11 placings and $244,065) and Destined To Rule (201 starts for 14 wins, 68 placings and $229,787).
Mighthavtime, the $2.90 second fancy, enjoyed a perfect passage in the one-out, one-back position, and she ran home gamely to finish second, a half-length behind the winner, who rated 1.58 over the 2130m.
After a lead time of 37.4sec., Sovrana coasted through the opening quarter of the final mile in 31.8sec. before 400m sections of 29.8sec., 28.5sec. and 28.7sec.
Fleur Du Marquis ($26) performed strongly to finish third after racing in the breeze, while Machs Legacy was an unlucky fourth. She was bottled up behind the pacemaker until Jocelyn Young was able to ease her into the clear 2540m from home. She then ran home powerfully, out wide.