Trainer Aaron Bain celebrated the festive season with a victory by Wonderwomen at Morphettville
on Boxing Day, December 26.
The win gave Bain his first metropolitan win at South Australia’s premier track in just over 12 months
of training.
His first metro win was by stayer Toyetic, but that was at Murray Bridge.
At Morphettville on Boxing Day, Wonderwomen, ridden by Barend Vorster, was sensationally backed
in the Aramis Vineyards Handicap (1200m) firming from as much as $3.50 to start $1.80 favourite.
Vorster had the four-year-old mare away well from her inside draw trailing the tempo to the home
turn.
In the home straight, Wonderwomen responded to the jockey’s urgings to take the lead then run
strongly through the line to score by a half-length from Inspired Sun ($9) with Kenyan Wonder
($6.50) a similar margin away third.
Bain believed Wonderwomen had been perfectly placed for the victory.
“The Morphettville metro winner had eluded us all year,” Bain said.
“To do it on the last metro meeting has been really good.
“We’ll tick that off our first full year of training and move on to next year.
“We are really excited about this horse.
“She was super first up, and today, it was a peach of a ride by Barend from the draw and she left
down beautifully.”
Bain said Vorster regularly came to Gawler to ride work for the stable.
“He is a massive asset for our stable.
“When he was thinking about a possible move to Victoria with the McEvoys, I said please stay and
we were pulling him this way.
“He is a great asset for our team, and the best in business as you saw there.”
Wonderwomen was formerly trained by David Payne in Sydney but has been pinpointed as suitable
for South Australia.
“A big shout out to Will O’Malley, he is a good close friend of our stable foreman Ned Taylor, does a
lot of work in finding these horses.
“He picked her out, and basically picks out all of our tried horses.
“He’s done a fantastic job here and she looks like she will go through the grades.”
Bain said the ABR team would put a plan together to go the yearling sales this year and feature
strongly.”
Winning jockey Barend Vorster congratulated ABR of its first Morphettville metro winner.
“She did a great job today,” Vorster said.
“She was well turned out and I basically wanted to be positive with her.
“It was nice that I was able to park just behind the front line, and she was always going to quicken
for me.
“I took my time at the top of the straight and she really kicked away nicely.
“It was a bit challenging late, but I think she is going to keep on getting fitter and the owners are
going to have some fun with her.”
