Capitola returned to his brilliant best when blitzing a slick juvenile field in the PKF Perth Plate (1100m) at Ascot on Saturday.
The Luke Fernie-trained youngster had won the Initial Plate (1000m) on debut in October but finished among the tailenders when asked to raise the bar in the RL Magic Millions 2YO Classic (1200m) in February and LR Perth Stakes (1100m) in April.
Fernie revealed it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the precocious son of 2015-16 Champion Australian 2YO Colt Capitalist (Written Tycoon). “Capitola was nearly knocked over in the Perth Stakes and he didn’t pull up very well so we had to miss the Karrakatta Plate.
“It was a toss-up whether we would send him to the paddock or keep going but he’s been a professional getting over those hiccups. I thought he could win today and it was a good result.”
The front-running victory over Brave Wasp (Brave Smash) and Playin’it Sweet (Playing God) was also the start of an exciting week for Amelia Park owner Peter Walsh who bred and sold him in partnership with Peter and Mark Chadwick. Walsh has his Group 1 winning mare Amelia’s Jewel (Siyouni) going under the hammer at the Inglis Chairman’s Sale (Lot 95) in Sydney on Thursday evening.
The trio received $110,000 when Capitola was knocked down to Fernie at the 2024 Swan Valley Yearling Sale. Six starts into a career that can be built on black-type, he’s already earned $141,000 boosted by Westspeed Bonuses of $45,650. His dam Rio Del Mar (Magnus) had been purchased as a foal for $20,000 at the 2017 Inglis Australian Weanling Sale and she won a G3 Gimcrack Stakes (1100m) at Ascot in a career limited to five starts.
Her current foal is a Playing God colt born in September and she was bred back to Capitalist in the Hunter Valley. Second-dam Costanera (Encosta De Lago) is an unraced three-quarter sister to Titanic Jack (G1 VRC Emirates Stakes).
