Saturday metropolitan double
17 Mar 2025
Grahame Begg's talented mare, Samangu, capped a highly successful preparation with her fifth win on Saturday, perhaps her toughest win to date.
With just seven starts under her belt - six this time in - the four-year-old daughter of Written By has been a revelation in Victoria this season, stepping up through the grades culminating in a pair of Saturday Caulfield wins.
Normally dominating her races from the front, Saturday's win saw her in unfamiliar territory behind the leaders. While trainer Grahame Begg noted she looked uncomfortable racing among horses, she found another gear to power clear and win by three-quarters of a length.
Picked out of our 2022 Inglis Classic draft by Begg and Rohan Hughes Bloodstock for $200,000, Samangu is out of an unraced full-sister to Gr1 Robert Sangster Stakes winner, Driefontein. Saturday's win took her earnings to just $15 short of the $300,000 mark and she now heads out for a well-earned spell, before tackling stakes company in the Spring.
Later in the day, it was Cork Harbour (pictured) on the quick back-up with victory at Morphettville for trainer Dean Saxon.
It was the fifth career win for the pint-sized gelding and his second at metropolitan level. The six-year-old has been in career best form this time in, with three wins since he kicked off this campaign in September.
Bred by the late Fergus Doyle, Cork Harbour is a son of Champion Sire Snitzel, out of Listed winning juvenile Maritimo [NZ] (Pins). He was sold through the pandemic-affected Inglis Easter Sale in 2020 for $475,000.
Our third winning graduate on Saturday, Rebel Love, may not have reached the same heights on the track as the previous two, but is another having a fantastic season for her connections.
Trained at Dubbo by Connie Grieg, Rebel Love has been dominant on the NSW country circuit this season, winning four of 10 starts since September.
A five-year-old daughter of Dissident, Rebel Love is a $62,500 graduate of our 2021 Magic Millions Gold Coast Book 2 draft.