Local filly La Dorada backed up from her stunning victory in the Karaka Million 2YO (1200m) last month with another gritty performance to take out her home track feature, the Group 2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) on Saturday.
The Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson-prepared daughter of Waikato Stud resident stallion Super Seth was expected to put in a strong showing and once she found the fence and the lead after 200m she was always going to be hard to beat.
Rated perfectly by rider Michael McNab, who had taken out the other two-year-old feature on the card aboard stablemate Return To Conquer in the Group 3 Matamata Slipper (1200m), La Dorada cruised along nicely with her main danger in Cambridge visitor To Cap It All on her outer.
This pair settled down to a fierce home straight battle with La Dorada pulling out something extra in the shadows of the post to win by half a length with another Te Akau Racing runner in Born To Be Royal taking third ahead of stablemate Marokopa Falls.
2025 Group 2 Matamata Breeders Stakes Replay – La Dorada
Bergerson was quick to praise both the filly and the ride by McNab after the race.
“What she lacks in size she makes up in toughness as she is just the ultimate racehorse,” Bergerson said.
“She has gone to the next level since her Karaka Million win as we gave her a quiet week after that and she came back and hasn’t missed a beat.
“She paraded fantastic and she has the little bit of grit and sassiness that gives her the edge and when the other one went up to her, she was really game.
“He (McNab) got away with a cheap sectional down the back and that was the winning of the race.
“We had it mapped that we were going to be outside the leader but he used his initiative and took up the running and the filly was very game late.”
Bergerson indicated that La Dorada was now likely to take on Return to Conquer in the Group 1 Sistema Stakes (1200m) at Ellerslie on March 8 where she is the second favourite at $3.20 in the Fixed Odds market with horse racing bookmakers behind her stablemate, who is at the head of affairs at a $2.20 quote.
McNab was thrilled with just how tough his mount was at the finish.
“She (La Dorada) is as tough as anything and she was never going to let the other horse get past her,” he said.
“The second horse is a really good one and we probably fit inside her height-wise, but mine is just all heart and a real little sweetheart.”
Horse racing news
