Our 3 year old Extreme Choice filly ESPIONA burst onto the racing scene with an impressive winning debut at Warwick Farm yesterday. Ridden by James McDonald for the 1,200 metres event, the filly was a touch slow away from the barriers but quickly found her stride to travel comfortably on the soft 6 surface. ESPIONA cruised up onto the heels of the leaders as they turned for home and James still had her under a strong hold upon straightening. She let down in fine style under hands and heels for a convincing win of 3.5 lengths ahead of her stablemate ARRANMORE.

James was very complimentary of the filly in his post race commentary and it was clear that he has a high opinion of ESPIONA going forward. She is an exciting prospect for her group of owners who seem certain to have a lot of fun with the filly as she hopefully continues on an upward trajectory.

ESPIONA was a $190,000 purchase at the 2020 Magic Millions Gold Coast yearling sale from the draft of Torryburn Stud. She is out of New Zealand bred mare Dahooil (NZ) and boasts a big pedigree page. The name ESPIONA translates as “to spy” so maybe that’s what her opposition will be doing in future!

Congratulations to the winning ESPIONA owners Leon Mugavin, McLeish Family Racing (Manager: David McLeish), Felgate Holdings (Manager: Paul Felgate), Peter Aukstinaitis, Anne Hickey, Boeara Holdings (Manager: Denise Dunphy), Chris Olliver, Paramount Racing (Manager: Kathryn Wood), Martin Ive, Rachel Ive, Macedon Park Pty Ltd (Manager: Margie Sheldon), Dianne Handley.