It may have been just a Sunday maiden victory but for connections this win was extra special for a couple of reasons. Many of the ownership group are clients who bred the filly from Pirellina, whom Tony trained for two wins back in 2018. When Tony set eyes on Cinque Ponte at the 2022 Vobis Gold Yearling Sale, he decided then and there he had to have her and purchased her for $50,000. Tony invited the breeders to race a portion of the filly and thankfully everyone agreed.

Cinque Ponte is the first foal from the mare and given her conformation and size, the mare is going to make a fantastic broodmare for many years to come. She now has a Shamus Award Colt and a Russian Camelot filly on the ground and her future looks bright.

Early in 2023, Cinque Ponte had a mishap while in the spelling paddock having fun with her paddock mates. It's fair to say they were nervous times in the days and weeks after the accident as it was touch and go whether she would live let alone race. She proved to be an excellent patient at the South East Veterinary Hospital and her recovery, although slow was flawless and only a matter of months later she was back in Greendale and going about her work. 

Since then, Cinque Ponte or Pamela as she is affectionately known in the stable has become a stable favourite. She has a beautiful temperament and has always shown nice ability, all the time knowing she may need some time to mature into her big frame and to catch up for lost time due to her earlier paddock mishap. Two runs earlier this year gave her the race experience she needed and after some more barrier training with Julien Walsh to sharpen her skills we made the trip to Echuca quietly confident the step up to 1400m and Good track would be exactly what she needed to break through.

Jarrod Fry gave the daughter of Toronado a 10/10 ride to win going away and provide connections with a perfect end to the week. The fact that the stable have always thought she will excel over more distance is cause for great optimism going forward. She will now step up in grade and distance and see if she can make it two in a row for her loyal and patient connections.

The win of Cinque Ponte was our first winner for the new season and meant we kicked off where we finished last season. The stable has had a terrific end to 23/24 with the horses racing in great form. Herbert Park x 2, Joon Ho, Dazzling Sky and Spoken Heiress were all winners in the last month of the season and we will be hoping they can continue on their winning ways over the coming weeks.