Soldi Repeats Debutant Stakes Success for Hayes Brothers

Lindsay Park, in conjunction with the Punt Road Syndications team, celebrated another significant victory on Wednesday at Caulfield as Soldi clinched Victoria's second juvenile race of the season.

Soldi demonstrated considerable grit to win the $175,000 Listed Debutant Stakes (1000m). This triumph marked the second consecutive year that the Punt Rd silks have been carried to victory in this race by a filly trained by the Hayes brothers, Ben, Will & Jd.

The win mirrored their success from the previous year with the Sword Of State filly Torture. JD Hayes expressed his satisfaction in achieving this repeat performance for the syndicate, which originated from a shared enthusiasm for racing and the Richmond Football Club.

"Back-to-back for Punt Road Syndicates – Johnny O'Neill, Jay Steet and the crew – and we've formed a bit of relationship and getting some nice results, especially with the two-year-olds," JD Hayes commented. "It was great for her to do that. We thought she'd taken nice improvement out of her trial here at Caulfield Heath the other day and she only got there by the barest of margins, but we'll take it."

The Tassort filly made an ideal beginning to her racing career, securing victory by a mere short-head over the $3 favourite, Royal Press. Soldi, the $3.80 second favourite, showed early acceleration but was compelled to race slightly off the inside rail due to Jye Mcneil's tactical ride on the Alabama Express colt Royal Press. However, Soldi responded with a strong finish, maintaining her narrow advantage over the colt in the closing 150 metres.

Winning rider Blake Shinn observed that Soldi seemed to relish the close contest with the runner-up.

"That is her best asset, her professionalism, and just natural ability," Shinn remarked. "She's got a lot of natural talent and it was nice to see, when she got into that bit of a fight there late, she really was determined to win."

Unlike Torture, a New Zealand-bred who travelled to the Karaka Million after her Debutant Stakes win, Soldi, a $310,000 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale purchase, is not eligible for that race. This opens up new possibilities for her future campaigns, much to Hayes' excitement.

"Whether she's had enough before Christmas or whether we go again is a decision that we'll have to make, because she does look like a real professional and has seriously got some speed there," Hayes added. Check out the latest racing betting markets for upcoming races at racing betting markets.