Stakes Mission Accomplished (April 12 2010)

A long-term plan was perfectly executed on Saturday by Matamata trainer Lance Noble who successfully sent the WS-bred and sold filly Mercury Mistress south on a black-type mission. The daughter of No Excuse Needed played her part in style at Riccarton where she led all the way to claim the Listed NZ Bloodstock Air Freight Stakes.

"It had been her target for some time and it's always nice to get one, particularly with this filly who hasn't had much luck at all," Noble said. "She actually won a two-year-old race at Matamata last season, but there was a false start and then we ran her first-up in the Gold Trail Stakes at Hastings as a three-year-old and she got decked. I've always rated her and I'm confident she'll go further."

Mercury Mistress is out of the winning Centaine mare Flytaine, who is from the family of Gr 1 Avondale Gold Cup winner She's A Meanie, and was a $20,000 buy out of WS's Select Sale draft to Karaka in 2008. She is raced by Sydney-based racing journalist Rob Burnet with his father Alan and Alan and Colleen Jackson.

"It's the same combination that raced Irlanda so we stuck to the Waikato Stud breed," Noble said. Also out of a Centaine mare, Irlanda (O'Reilly) won six races including the Gr 2 Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders' Stakes and the Gr 3 Eulogy Stakes.

Mercury Mistress will target further black-type in the south with the Listed Warstep Stakes (2000m) at Riccarton on April 24 next on her programme. "I think she'll get the 2000 metres all right and we may even go to Brisbane with her - that's a possibility, but we'll see how she goes next time out first and talk it over with the owners."