Captured By Love Captures her second Group 2!!!!
Captured By Love continued her sensational 2YO season with another Group 2 victory on the weekend, this time in The J Swap Contractors Ltd Matamata Breeders’ Stakes at Matamata over 1200m. Sent off second favorite despite being unbeaten on her previous three starts, victory never looked in doubt with the filly coming three wide off the home bend and quickly accounting for the race favorite in a matter of strides. With a trophy cabinet also boosting the Group 3 Platinum Homes New Plymouth Taranaki 2YO Classic and the Group 2 Mode Technology Wakefield Challenge Stakes at Wellington, the filly by Written Tycoon will now turn her attention to the Group 1 Sistema Stakes over 1200m at Ellerslie on March 9th.
The first foal out of the Makybe bred mare Moldova, Captured By Love was a $525,000 purchase for David Ellis and his Te Aku racing outfit at last year’s Magic Millions sale on the Gold Coast.
Moldova herself looked to have plenty of talent winning both of her first two outings, including a win down the straight at Flemington as a 2YO over 1100m before coming unstuck in the Redoute’s Choice stakes on a short backup. A serious injury in pretraining ultimately ended her career with the mare suffering a severe laceration to her gastrock tendon. Her talent as producer, however, looks assured through the deeds of Captured by Love.
Moldova produced a very smart colt by Too Darn Hot in her second season at stud, who also went through the ring on the Gold Coast and was purchased by the renowned judge and trainer Peter Moody for $500k. The mare has a very smart filly by Toronado at foot and unfortunately missed to Justify this season.