Stakes winner in waiting Yonce (NZ) (Proisir) is closer to making her seasonal reappearance after featuring in a jumpout on Tuesday.
The gifted Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained mare finished fifth of 10 runners in a 1000-metre Burrumbeet jumpout after being allowed to find her feet early in the heat and never being asked to fully extend under regular rider John Allen.
After being unbeaten from her first six starts in Victoria, Yonce’s maiden appearance in Stakes company resulted in a fourth placing in the Gr.1 Queen of the Turf Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on April 9.
But the Proisir five-year-old has not raced since her meteoric rise through the grades in her only racing campaign, with her spring campaign terminated within days of finishing second in a 900-metre St Arnaud jumpout on August 15.
“She experienced an unfortunate setback in the spring,” managing owner Ozzie Kheir said.
“She was kicked in a horse float, which set her back three weeks at a critical time last spring, so it was decided to extend her spell (and) get condition on her, which seems to have paid dividends.
“From all reports she seems to be much stronger this time around and has come back and improved again, which is nice to see in these early stages of her campaign.”
Yonce failed to meet her $30,000 reserve when offered by Woburn Farm at New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale in 2019.
Cambridge horseman Ross McCarroll purchased Yonce a month after the sale and formed an ownership group which included friends Shane McAlister, Stephen Kneebone and Graham Marshall.
When Marshall died in June 2021, without seeing Yonce race, the share was transferred to his partner Lyn McMullan.
The syndicate struck a deal to sell 50 per cent to an Australian syndicate, led by Kheir, after Yonce had two quiet trials in New Zealand.
Shin soreness and a prolonged period to settle into her new surrounds in Victoria delayed her racetrack career, which started with victory in a 1200-metre Mornington maiden in December 2021.
Five-consecutive Melbourne metropolitan victories followed, culminating in the A$200,000 Mystic Journey (2000m) for fillies and mares on March 19 just three weeks before she suffered her lone defeat in the Queen of the Turf.
