I Am Aria records first win at Bendigo's famed track

Bendigo is recognised as the 'Nursery of Champions', and trainer Mark Walker is optimistic that I Am Aria can join the ranks of 'Black Type' winners who achieved their initial victories at this historic course. A distinguished list of horses, including Hyperno, Better Loosen Up, Shocking, Campaign King, Star Of The Realm, Miami Bound, and Hollow Bullet, all recorded early wins at the track located about 150km from Melbourne.

I Am Aria may soon be the latest name added to this celebrated lineage, following her triumph in the Sandhurst Stockfeeds Maiden Plate (1000m) on Wednesday. Dispatched as the $1.65 favourite under the guidance of Michael Dee, I Am Aria secured a 1-½ length victory over Novamira ($4.40), with Silent Devotion ($21) claiming third place a length further back.

The filly had demonstrated potential in her debut campaign, achieving placings in the Blue Diamond Prelude and Blue Preview. However, her campaign was derailed when she unexpectedly broke through the front of the barriers during the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield in February. Following this incident, I Am Aria was given a spell and was competing for the first time since. Despite the challenging wet conditions, she proved superior to her competition.

"It's always a relief to kick off the three-year-old season like that," trainer Mark Walker told racing.com. "She's got Black Type already, but it would be good to win a Black Type race. She's got a beautiful pedigree, so it's onwards and upwards."

Walker mentioned that horses by sire I Am Invincible typically mature well with age, a characteristic he hopes I Am Aria will exhibit. "We put her aside after she had that hiccup in the Blue Diamond and she had a lovely spell," Walker said. "(Assistant-trainer) Ben (Gleeson) and I have seen the development in her in the way she had been working, and she seems a more mature filly. Hopefully, she can go a very good level, with a bit of luck."

Walker identified the Group 3 Cap D'antibes Stakes (1100m) at Flemington on September 12 as the intended next target for the filly. Jockey Michael Dee, who had partnered I Am Aria for her maiden start, observed that the filly was bigger and stronger following her spell. "She's definitely made progress," Dee stated. "She still has her winter coat on her but is getting better day by day and what she showed me today, there's plenty more to come from her."

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