To Cap It All was clearly headed in the straight in Saturday’s Listed Star Group Wellesley Stakes (1100m), but the highly rated first-starter fought back fiercely to kick off her career on a stakes-winning note at Trentham.
The Capitalist filly had always been held in high regard by the Stephen Marsh stable and scored a two-length win in her only trial at Pukekohe on December 17.
Saturday’s $100,000 Wellesley Stakes was a daunting debut assignment, coming up against a talented 10-horse field that included last-start Group II Wakefield Challenge Stakes (1100m) winner Intention along with several other promising rivals. But the buzz around To Cap It All saw her drop from $5 all the way into $2.60 favouritism by the time the starting gates opened.
To Cap It All jumped only fairly from gate five, and jockey Sam Spratt had to use up some petrol and urge her forward to take up a leading position alongside the second favourite Carsolio.
To Cap It All sprinted again and pulled ahead of Carsolio early in the home straight, but then she faced another big challenge from Abbakiss and Intention, but prevailed in the end to win by a head in a thriller.
“That was a huge run,” Spratt said. “She’d had only the one trial, and that was a quiet trial, so it’s a big effort.
“She was pretty green and having a good look around, but I was very impressed by the way she knuckled down. I thought she was 100 percent beaten, so for her to fight back the way she did was brilliant.
“She’ll improve lengths on that performance. I don’t think she let down as much as she can do. She’ll only be better with time, including as a three-year-old next season, but she’s pretty good as a two-year-old already.”
To Cap It All was the second impressive debut two-year-old winner within the space of a week for the Marsh stable, who sent out Written By filly Tale Of The Gypsy for a stylish victory at Te Aroha last Saturday. That filly will attempt to book herself a spot in the Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) field when she lines up again at Ellerslie on Sunday.
Marsh Racing and Dylan Johnson Bloodstock bought To Cap It All from Inglis Easter in Sydney for $280,000 from the draft of Ridgmont.
To Cap It All is the third foal of winning Snitzel mare Oh My Mimi, a half-sister to Group III winner Barbaric from Group I placed Group II winner Mimi Lebrock).
The fourth foal from Oh My Mimi is a filly by Stay Inside that will be offered at Inglis Classic by Alma Vale Thoroughbreds as Lot 491. She was sold as a weanling last year at the Inglis Sale for $170,000 and her dam Oh My Mimi was also sold last year through Inglis Digital for $155,000 to dissolve a partnership.
“We loved this filly right from the moment we first saw her,” Johnson said. “You have to pay a bit of money to buy nice fillies like her, but we’re lucky to have an amazing group of owners that put their support behind us to do that.
“She’s a big, strong filly who moved beautifully at the sales. She looked great in the parade today and acquitted herself very well on debut.
“We were confident coming into today. Stephen has had a big opinion of her all the way through, and she’s a filly with a lovely attitude.
“It’s never easy for a first-starter in a race like this, going up against proven stakes horses. It was a massive effort to travel this far and win on debut.”
To Cap It All is ineligible for the Karaka Millions 2YO, but she is likely to be set for other black-type targets later in the summer.
“She’s a stakes-winning filly with a big pedigree and has done a great job already,” Johnson said. “If we could push forward now to a race like the Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (Gr.2, 1200m) in February, that would be an ideal target.”
Marsh and Johnson have put their faith in the progeny of Capitalist, securing another filly from Jaylo for $180,000 during the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale on Friday.
“We love the Capitalist and Written Tycoon sire line, the stable has had a lot of success with it in the past,” Johnson said. “We’re always keen to go back and try to find gold where it’s been found before.”
To Cap It All is the 22nd stakes-winner for Capitalist and is his fourth from a daughter of Snitzel.
