Graceful Anna’s remarkable rise through racing’s ranks peaked at the Gold Coast today when she triumphed in the $1 million Queensland Racing Magic Millions 3YO Trophy (1400m).
A daughter of Canny Lad, Graceful Anna provided her young trainer David Pfeiffer with his greatest win when she held out the late charge from Tallow and Love Conquers All.
Pfeiffer, 29, couldn’t believed he had triumphed in one of the country’s best and richest races.
“It was an outstanding win,” he said. “To win five in a row is a big effort and to win a race like this today is outstanding.”
“For a young bloke like me who is trying to get going – it’s tops.”
“People dream about this stuff and it doesn’t always come true. But it has today!”
Pfeiffer said his bonny filly has an undeniable will to win and her latest streak of wins has included the Group Three Vo Rogue Plate and the rich Wyong Magic Millions 3YO Stakes.
In the Wyong race – where she beat today’s minor placegetter Tallow – she sizzled across the turf and set a track record.
“She’s got a massive heart. She’s only a little filly, but her heart’s as big as her.”
“She really tries her heart out.”
“Every time we’ve lifted the level on her she’s kept on going. It really is a tremendous effort.”
The trainer, who is based at Warwick Farm, has just 10 horses in work and only commenced training two years ago.
“She’ll go to the paddock now and we’ll see where we go from there,” Pfeiffer reported.
With Peter Robl in the saddle Graceful Anna got home to beat Tallow by a long neck. Stakes winning Sydney galloper Love Conquers All was a nose away in third place.
A protest fired in by Darren Beadman who rode Love Conquers All against Tallow was dismissed by stewards after a lengthy hearing.
Graceful Anna, who is unbeaten in five runs this preparation, is a great advertisement for Australia’s most winning thoroughbred sales company, Magic Millions.
The bonny filly has been sold three times by Magic Millions – for $14,000 at the 2007 National Weanling Sale, then $25,000 at the 2008 Gold Coast Yearling Sale and thirdly for $38,000 at the 2008 National Horses in Training Sale.
Her earnings now sit at an incredible $812,475. Not bad for six starts!
As a weanling she was sold by Woodlands Stud, as a yearling by Cayley Thoroughbreds and lastly by Greenmount Lodge as a two-year-old.
She made her way to the Pfeiffer stable when her most recent purchaser, Oliver Koolman, retired from training.
Graceful Anna, by Canny Lad, is the first winner to date for her dam, the lightly raced Grand Lodge mare Lamellar.
A half sister to the Adelaide stakes winner Catriona, Lamellar is now based in Western Australia and her latest yearling will go under the hammer at the 2010 Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale.
Catalogued as lot number 100, the subject youngster is a chestnut filly by Divine Madonna’s sire Hurricane Sky.
And the latest yearling from Catriona, a lovely chestnut filly by Flying Pegasus, will be presented by Kiah Glenn, as lot 2, at the upcoming Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale.