Stakes wins at Scone possible stepping stones to winter carnival riches for Zapateo and In Secret

Zapateo and In Secret secured valuable Black Type and may have earned trips to Queensland for feature winter carnival races after scoring dominant wins in Listed events at the Scone city meeting on Saturday, 14 May.

Zapateo won the Denise’s Joy Stakes for three-year-old fillies over 1,100m with Rachel King in the saddle.

King parked the three-year-old daughter of Brazen Beau and Jerezana in fifth spot to the home turn before Zapateo unleashed a big sprint down the outside to beat A Very Fine Red by just over a length. Coco Rox was another half-length away in third spot.

The winner recorded a slick 1min 3.66secs in taking her record to three wins and four placings from just eight starts, boosting her prize money and bonuses swag to an impressive A$327,450 in the process. 

In Secret had earlier started the big day well for head trainer James Cummings when she won the Woodlands Stud Stakes for two-year-old fillies over 1,100m.

An impressive maiden winner on debut at Hawkesbury last month, In Secret kept her record intact and took her total earnings to $126,725 when beating Golden Queen by 1.5 lengths, with Penthouse 2.2 lengths behind the winner.

Aided by a masterful ride from Hugh Bowman ride, In Secret stopped the clock on 1min 3.75sec on a track officially rated a Heavy 8 at that stage of the program.

The filly, by I Am Invincible out of the five-times Stakes winner Eloping, was purchased by Godolphin Australia for $900,000 at the 2021 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale and looks to have a golden future.

In Brisbane, the Cummings-trained Paulele showed he was a G1 winner in waiting when he just failed to run down Mazu in the $1 million Doomben 10,000 over 1,200m at Eagle Farm.

Jockey James McDonald got Paulele to within a short-head of the favourite, with New Zealand mare Entriviere finishing fast to take third.

And in Adelaide, rising young stayer Alegron (Damien Oliver) was extremely unlucky when held up behind tiring horses at the home turn before finishing fourth in the $500,000 G1 South Australian Derby (2,500m).