WYONG trainer Damien Lane is doing his home town proud with a filly bearing a special name.
Born and raised in Coonamble, Lane purchased a yearling at the Inglis Hunter Thoroughbred Breeders Association sale in May last year, and named her Canamble.
Having only her fourth start and on resumption at Dubbo on Friday, the now three-year-old posted her second success.
Ridden by Jenny Duggan, Canamble ($4.20) overcame an outside barrier in the Class 1 Handicap (1000m) to bravely defeat The Mooch ($31) and Quick Onyx ($4.40).
She began brilliantly and crossed to the rail, was taken on in front and defied her challengers in the straight.
The now three-year-old daughter of Aylmerton and Bernardini mare Berdini fetched $14,000, and has already well and truly repaid her purchase price – and then some.
Canamble has earned $61,200 (including an $11,250 BOBS bonus), and is raced by the trainer’s wife Kate.
Fittingly, she won on debut at Lane’s birthplace in March over 1100m, and then finished third in the $200,000 Wellington Boot over the same distance a week later.
“I liked her when I saw her at the sale,” Lane said on Saturday.
“She was a really nice type of filly from a well-bred stallion (Aylmerton won the Group 2 Todman Stakes at Rosehill Gardens before finishing 10th in Estijaab’s Golden Slipper, and has now been retired from breeding), and wasn’t dear.
“I wasn’t able to get the name Coonamble, but Canamble is pretty close.
“She did an excellent job at Dubbo as she was pressured up front and still fought them off at the end.
“It was a good tough effort, and I don’t know what her ceiling is.
“But there is definitely a bit of improvement there as she wasn’t fully wound up for her first-up run.
“Canamble ran 57.45 seconds for the 1000m, which was faster than the Benchmark 66 Handicap winner Lord Bob (who clocked 57.80s and is also trained at Wyong by Allan Kehoe).”
Canamble was Lane’s fifth winner this season, and his career 306th.
Meanwhile, Lane’s talented apprentice Anna Roper still isn’t ready to make a belated start to the 2024-25 season.
She has been off the scene since winning on Yendy at Hawkesbury on July 21, and underwent surgery two days later on a troublesome knee injury.
Roper rode 74 winners last season, taking her career tally to 131, and won the Rising Star Series for apprentice jockeys.
“Anna continues to undergo physio, and hopefully it won’t be too much longer before she is cleared to resume riding work,” Lane said.
Story John Curtis, October 5, 2024
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