Brett Robb has come across another ‘little beauty’ in the form of Simply Xtravagant, which will be out to make it five wins on the trot in Sunday’s $37,000 Cotton Cup (1600m) at Warren.
The four-year-old commenced her career in Victoria, starting eight times for one win at Pakenham.
There isn’t much to the Xtravagant mare out of Down The Hatch, and when she turned up at Robb’s stable, she was ‘little and very light’,
Following a 13-week let-up, she’s blossomed under the care of Robb and his team, and for what she lacks in size, she makes up in heart, winning her past four races.
“She is a dead-set trier and a little beauty,” Robb said.
“I didn’t think she would get much racing this prep, but she’s gained a lot of condition and strengthened right up.
“If anything, she’s just matured and likes it here; she might like the warmer weather.”
During her incredible run, the Dubbo galloper had progressed from a Class One (1300m) win at Dubbo in September to an Open Handicap grade following her Benchmark 66 Handicap (1400) win at Coonabarabran on October 22.
“To be honest, I thought she could win first-up, and it was a good run, and she came home strong to finish third,” Robb said.
“Since then, she hasn’t put a foot wrong, and the little filly is just thriving.”
Robb explained how he came across the talented mare.
“I had a couple of horses for the owner, and they sent them out here to win a race, which they did, and they said they had a mare for a free lease,” Robb said.
“I said to the boys, ‘I think we’ve got a good deal here; it’s a free lease, so we can’t go wrong’, and a few boys were keen to go in.”
While Robb agreed that Simply Xtravagant should be getting close to a spell on paper, he explained that his tenacious galloper was racing as well as ever and feeling great.
“You’d nearly have to think she would be getting close to the end of her prep, but she’s not showing any signs of slowing down,” Robb said.
“Every time she runs, she puts in 100%, but the next day, she licks the bin out, and there’s not much of her, but she keeps on going.
“She is very sound and has a good constitution, and you know the saying, once a mare’s in form, they are hard to hold off.”
Connections are considering their options with Simply Xtravagant, with a tilt at the upcoming Mudgee Cup or a trip north of the border on the cards.
“She is a 77-rater now, and she’s gone from a (Benchmark) 56 to 77, and if she won again at Warren, she’s probably 82 or 83 after that,” Robb said.
“We’ve got the Mudgee Cup coming up, and she has got to get a mile first, but if she won and pulled up okay, I might even get in touch with Barry Lockwood, who won with Dalavin for us, and we might send her to Brisbane and try and win a race up there.”
Robb isn’t counting his chickens, conceding that Sunday’s Cotton Cup would be his mare’s ‘acid test’.
Clayton Gallagher takes the ride, and she gets in nicely with 56.5kg and barrier three.
“She has got to lift,” Robb said.
“You’ve got a good horse like Watch Me Rumble, which ran second in the Coona Cup, a stronger race.
“It’s a good field with some good horses, but she is working good, and if she gets in good with the weight and runs the mile, she has got to be a chance, but it is her toughest test.”
On a big day at Warren, complementing the Cotton Cup is the Warren Sprint (1200m)
Robb has the top weights in Moetta (Dakota Gillett, 59.5kg) and Morgenstern (Clayton Gallagher, 59.5kg).
“They both went to Coona for the sprint, and Moetta should have won, and Morgenstern was probably a bit disappointing,” Robb said.
“Moetta tries her absolute guts out, and she is a good mare and unlucky not to have won a half-a-dozen more races.
“Morgenstern’s a good hose, with a big turn-of-foot, but he needs a bit to go his way, but if it does go his way, he’ll take some holding out.”
Of his chances on the day, Robb believes Deion (Clayton Gallagher, 60.5kg) will take some beating in the 1000m Benchmark 58 Handicap, while Lunar Eagle (Clayton Gallagher, 56.5kg) is building towards a significant effort in the 1400m Benchmark 58 Handicap,
Click here for Warren’s Cotton Cup fields.
