Wainui Creek, unplaced at her previous four starts, bounced back to top form with a convincing victory at $10 in the group 2 $50,000 Channel 7 Empress Stakes over 2536m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“I don’t think she has been going that well,” said star reinsman Ryan Warwick. “I thought she has been a bit off, mainly with her attitude and not really with the way she has been racing. Her attitude wasn’t as good as we thought it could have been.
“But she has started to turn the corner. She raced three back on the pegs and a few good things happened for her. When Sweet Maddison was in front, I though she wasn’t the right leader. But when you have drawn barrier two, you’ve got to lead.
“I thought what made the race for us was when Junior (Gary Hall Jnr) went forward with Alice Kay in the second lap.”
Alice Kay ($4.80) was ninth with 1400m to travel when Hall set her alight and she sprinted fast in a bid to take the lead from Sweet Maddison, who resisted the challenge. Wainui Creek continued to race in sixth position, three back on the pegs, and Warwick was able manoeuvre the mare into the one-wide line with 420m to travel.
Wainui Creed went five wide on the home turn and with 95m to go she burst to the front, overhauling the $3.60 favourite Star Of Diamonds, who had surged into the lead, out four wide, with 250m to travel. Has No Fear ($9) finished strongly to be second, ahead of Star Of Diamonds and Sheez Our Hope ($9).
Star Of Diamonds started from the back line and was eighth in the middle stages before sustaining a strong three-wide run to be fifth at the bell.
Wainui Creek, a five-year-old Bettors Delight mare who raced 27 times in New Zealand for six wins and 12 placings, has had 11 starts in Western Australia for four wins and one second placing. Her win on Friday night boosted her earnings to $270,696 and gave Warwick his second success in the Empress Stakes after he guided the Grant Williams-trained Asian Paradise to a one metre win over Billabong Girl in March 2005.
By Ken Casellas