Having been Stakes placed in the Group 3 Adrian Knox run over 2,000 metres on a heavy 9 rated track in April this year, 4 year old mare CONCELLO looked likely to return to form over the 1,900 metres of the last race at Canterbury Park on Friday night – with the main issue the uncertainty of the meeting proceeding until the final race with visibility and safety the considerations given the ongoing heavy rain.

The daughter of Trapeze Artist travelled evenly throughout near the back of the field, but when her rider Kerrin McEvoy looked to peel around the small group of horses at the home corner, CONCELLO looked to struggle in the conditions. It then took some time for her to become balanced in the straight and it wasn’t until the final 150 metres of the race, that she began to lift and improve in a hurry grabbing victory with a last stride lunge on the line. The result took a little while to be posted, but the mare had done enough to come away with the win. Kerrin was certain that CONCELLO can run further than 1,900 metres in a higher grade, so that premise should allow more opportunities for success in the coming months.

Congratulations to the winning CONCELLO owners Peter Blunden, CGO Racing, Martin Ive, Rachel Ive, Craig McRae, Holly McGrath, Catherine Remond, Senga Bissett, Christopher McSporran, McLeish Family Racing (Manager: David McLeish), Paramount Racing (Manager: Kathryn Wood), Boeara Holdings (Manager: Denise Dunphy), Rebecca Grasso, Scott Maybury