Sileel
Newcastle has been a happy hunting ground for us in 2017 and we sent Sileel up North to race at the evening meeting their on Tuesday hoping that she could shed her Maiden status. The daughter of War Front had been second in three Maidens and we felt it was time to try and exploit what looked a fairly lenient mark in handicap company.
P J McDonald jumped well on our filly and set a sedate tempo in the early stages of the contest. Sileel travelled well into the straight and as she entered into the final two furlongs McDonald kicked for home. Henpecked tried to close and chased her right to the line but Sileel had enough in reserve to hold on by three quarters of a length.
This was an important first win for Sileel, she is a well-bred filly and her dam gilt is a half-sister to Exchange Rate. Exchange Rate sired Reckless Abandon and he was a Grade 2 winner in the US. She looks like she will make a lovely broodmare in the future. The handicapper will not punish her too harshly for this success and she should be competitive again in the future.
Congratulations to Mr Abdullah Al Naboodah the owner of Sileel who has been a big supporter of La Grange, this was his eighth La Grange trained winner in 2017. This was our 40th winner of the season and we hope that the horses remain in rude health so that we can close in on the half-century mark soon.