Sabatini reigns supreme at the Heath

Classy mare “Sabatini” continued her love affair with Caulfield, beating the boys to claim the Le Pines Funeral Handicap (1100m).

The Lee and Shannon Hope -trained four-year-old won a handful of Group races last season – all at Caulfield – and she showed she’s in for another good campaign with a strong first-up performance in her first race against the males.

Ridden by Kerrin McEvoy, Sabatini stormed down the outside to beat The Monstar and Kuro to record the fifth win of her career – and her fourth at Caulfield.

“She’s got a lot of guts and she was pretty well today,” Lee Hope said.

“She’s just a racehorse.”

The Group 1 Myer Classic (1600m) could be her ultimate goal this campaign, while she’s likely to head to the Group 2 Tristarc Stakes (1400m) back at her favourite track next.

“She’s only ever had one go at the mile and that was in the Thousand Guineas – she ran third and only got beaten about a-length-and-a-bit,”Hope said.

“The 1400m is ideal with the speed on.

“We’ll see how far we go with her, but (the Myer Classic) is always at the end of the carnival if it suits her.”

Racing.com