30-month drought broken

HAVING finally registered an overdue victory, connections of Keilah hope she can continue the winning feeling during the weekend.

Although racing in solid form, Keilah had been absent from the number one stall since scoring at Globe Derby in February 2024 before breaking the drought at the same venue today.

Trained by Rebecca Geurds, who still owns the daughter of Art Major, at the time, Keilah is now in the Nick Tardio stable.

“About time she got there,” Tardio said. “She was going to be put in foal, but that was changed and she’s still racing.

“It has taken a while, but I knew it was worth keeping her going and I have no doubt she can win a few more yet.

“Today’s win was a series heat, so hopefully she can get a nice draw in Saturday night’s Final and be hard to beat.”

With Dani Hill holding the reins, Keilah was settled two-back along the pegs from the pole as Whitestarchristian worked to the lead from barrier four.

Three-wide around the home turn, the daughter of Art Major sprinted to a three-metre win from Sea Hunter, with Justcallmeangus two metres away third.

“She’s been running well without luck, so it was good to see things finally go her way,” Tardio said. “The small field helped, but she still had to be good enough.”