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Ciaron Maher has been left to marvel at the tenacity of bonny mare Bella Nipotina, who has overcome a busy travel schedule to upset I Wish I Win in the $1.5 million Doomben 10,000.
Kicking off her preparation in Melbourne, Bella Nipotina was narrowly edged out by Chain Of Lightning in the T J Smith Stakes during the Sydney autumn carnival before travelling to Perth where she finished fourth to Overpass in The Quokka.
She then made her way back to the east coast and up to Brisbane where she overhauled one of the country’s eminent sprinters in I Wish I Win to triumph in Saturday’s Group 1 feature.
“She actually hasn’t been in a stable any more than three days over the past two weeks,” Maher said.
“She was in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle and now Brisbane. Unbelievable mare.
“I thought the (soft) conditions, the track, would really suit and then when we jumped from the barriers I thought we were no chance.
“But Craig (Williams) knows her really well and he took his medicine.”
Williams had hoped to be positive aboard Bella Nipotina ($7) from barrier three, but when she was slow to jump, he found himself among the tailenders in the field of nine.
Easing to the outside at the top of the straight, Williams gave the mare rein, and she unleashed a withering sprint to wear down I Wish I Win ($2.20 betting fav) in the final bounds and score by a half-head with Espiona ($5) another length away third.
Bella Nipotina gave Williams back-to-back successes in the Doomben 10,000 (1200m) after his victory aboard Giga Kick last year and he said it was kudos to Queensland racing officials for bumping up prizemoney to attract the top sprinters.
“Last year we saw Giga Kick, today we’ve seen two of arguably our best sprinters in Australia as well, so credit to them for putting on the money,” Williams said.
“You can see Ciaron, he’s won all the big races around Australia and internationally and he’s got a huge thrill out of her.
“There’s a lot of effort that goes into her.”
Willias has developed a great rapport with Bella Nipotina, guiding her to four of her eight career wins including her two majors in the 2022 Manikato Stakes and the Doomben 10,000.
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