Kylie Williams salutes after guiding Miss Federer to victory in the Listed NZB Airfreight Stakes (1400m) at Wingatui Photo credit: Wild Range Photography
Speedy filly Miss Federer lead from go to woah in Saturday’s Listed NZB Airfreight Stakes 3YO (1400m) at Wingatui.
The Andrew Carston-trained filly won three of her five races as a juvenile including the Listed Barneswood Farm Welcome Stakes (1000m) and the Gr.3 Woburn Farm 2YO Classic (1200m).
The daughter of Swiss Ace added the Listed New Zealand Bloodstock Canterbury Belle Stakes (1200m) to her pedigree in the second start of her three-year-old season, however the petite pocket rocket then put in a couple of below average performances prompting Carston to make gear changes.
“My theory in racing is that if you do the same thing every week you get the same result and we weren’t getting the results, so we fiddled around with a bit of gear and it looks like it worked,” Carston said.
“She was blowing like a stuffed pig for about an hour after her last start but I knew that she wasn’t unfit I actually spoke to Lisa Latta about it and she suggested trying a tongue tie so I did.
“She pulled up good on Saturday, so she was possibly just getting her tongue back and going too fierce and that was also the reason that I took the blinkers off her because she was going too hard and not having enough petrol left in the tank.
“The race was also run a lot differently yesterday, they left her alone in front so that contributed to it too.”
Jockey Kylie Williams was able to dictate the pace throughout to claim her 100th winner at Wingatui.
“Kylie produced a copybook performance,” Carston said. “She didn’t get a lot of pressure from the others and when she got some cheap sectionals, I knew she was going to be hard to beat.”
Bred by 2018-19 New Zealand Breeder of the Year Greg Tomlinson under his Nearco Stud banner, Miss Federer is the best performed daughter of Westbury Stud-based sire Swiss Ace and she is out of the My Halo mare Halobelle who won eight races including the Listed Eclipse Stakes at Wingatui.
Carston purchased her as a yearling for $10,000 out of Bradbury Park’s 2018 Karaka Book 2 draft and she was syndicated between Mark and Dawn Dowling, Clint and Jill Tauri, Russell and Ros McClean, Dave and Jill MacGibbon, Brian and Margaret Sheppard, Beau and Ann Trevathan, Lindsay and Kaz Harliwich, Joy Isaacs, Janice Banks and Terry Williamson.
“Dawn and Mark Dowling are original owners of mine and they took 70 percent of her and shared it amongst their friends who are based in Central Otago and Janice Banks, who had a share in Xpressmymind and is Canterbury-based got a couple of her friends involved,” Carston said.
The win placed Miss Federer at the top of New Zealand Bloodstock Southern Filly of the Year standings, however Carston confirmed she would not contest the last two legs of the series as he has opted to take her talent north instead.
“I’m very likely to take her to Wellington for the Wellington Guineas on Oaks Day,” he said.
The win was Carston's 24th this season, making it his best season to date and he currently sits in 10th position on the national trainer's premiership.