My old friend Mark Barrett will be smiling in heaven at the win of the aptly named Barrett's Mark over 1200m at Echuca on Thursday.

Mark joined in the ownership of the filly, by Churchill Downs out of the very fast Go Ruby Go, a daughter of Baryshnikov that was one of the first horses I trained, after she was passed in at the Adelaide Yearling Sale. With his family still involved in her ownership she got the name after we lost Mark earlier this year but his legacy is certainly still with us.

Barrett's Mark has tested our patience but she is definitely worth it and I must pay tribute here to Shane Patterson and his staff at Flemington who broke this filly in.

Unlucky not to finish closer on debut, Barrett's Mark flew the barriers yesterday under Lisa Cropp and she basically led all the way, fighting on strongly in the straight to score by half a length. She is far from fully wound up and as Lisa said afterwards, "She still doesn't really know what she's doing. What she is doing now is just raw ability. When she puts it all together she is going to be a nice filly."

The track was upgraded yesterday and was riding firm by the time we had our last runner for the day so I shall see how Barrett's Mark pulls up before making any definite plans for her. She had a good look at the furlong marker poles in the straight and the advertising boards on the winning post, so the experience will be beneficial to her.

On a personal note I was even more delighted with the win as it got us off 13 for the season!

Share on Facebook