Fillies With The X Factor

It is early in the season but do not be surprised if the outcome of the clash between unbeaten two-year-olds Ruud Awakening and Bounding at Pukekohe this Saturday reflects divisional honours come August next year.

While they may only have had an accumulative three raceday starts, both fillies have displayed a rare ability to work at both ends of a race and still hit the line strongly.

Ruud Awakening won easily on debut at Avondale, leading all the way. She was equally as impressive at her next start in the Listed Wellesley Stakes at Trentham, taking a sit before accelerating away at the 200m to beat the well regarded fillies Dancers Tale and Princess Sophie . That form has been franked with Almanza, beaten over six lengths at Avondale, coming out and winning his next start at Te Rapa, while Dancers Tale won the Listed Welcome Stakes at Riccarton last Saturday.

A $90,000 purchase from the 2012 Karaka Premier Sale by syndicator Albert Boersma for his Go Racing partnerships, Rudd Awakening is a natural two-year-old type, not big and only lightly framed but well balanced and athletic. Her sire, the shuttler Bernardini, has had an exceptional start to his stallion career in the NH and while his impact downunder has been considerably more subdued, he has some promising types, particularly the Snowden pair of Meidung and Solemn.

The distaff of Ruud Awakening, American in origin but with recent roots in Australia, has a distinct affiliation with speed. Dawn Almighty, the dam of Ruud Awakening, is a Danehill full sister to the dam of the dual group winning sprinter Ruud Vann Slaats- she recently delivered her first foal, a colt by Rip Van Winkle.

Bounding debuted at Ellerslie on 27 October in a race that should shape as a very strong form reference. The 880m event featured the debut of the much hyped Catalonia, and it says a lot for the reputation and trackwork of the Ken Kelso trained filly that she closed a $3.60 second favourite to the even money quote for the Te Akau runner.

The Lohnro filly crossed quickly from her wide draw to sit outside the pacemaking Catalonia before popping the question to the Commands colt at the 300m. She drew clear of the favourite, beating him easing up by two lengths, with, significantly, three and a quarter lengths to third.. While the field contained mostly debutantes, it's strength should not be underestimated with seven of the nine starters having won at the trials.

It is not hard to see why owner Gary Harding had to part with AUS $425,000 for Bounding at the Sydney Easter Yearling Sale. Pierro, by Lohnro had won the Golden Slipper two days before the Sale started and she was the first foal of a juvenile stakeswinning Exceed And Excel mare who in turn is from an American family rich in black-type. As a type she is not too dissimilar to her arch rival on Saturday, possibly just a trifle taller and with a deeper girth.

The female family of Bounding is on the move. Kuroshio, a full brother to Bounding's dam Believe N Succeed, won the Listed Maribynong Trial Stakes at Caulfield last month.

The Danny Green versus Shane Cameron boxing fight has dominated the sporting headlines this week, but unlike that stoush, do not expect these fillies to lie all over each other and only come alive in the closing stages. Saturday's Murdoch Newell Stakes will be a great contest, and while it maynot be a knockout victory, the split points victory to Bounding I'm predicting will be better value than $39.95.