Race favourite Ravishing Ruby ($1.55 fav) made a winning race track debut when claiming the second heat of the Fehlbergs Produce 2YO Fillies Sweepstakes (1609m) in Hobart on Friday night.
Driver Mark Yole took the Peter Bain-trained daughter of Always B Miki to the lead after the first 250m, and was able to dictate affairs, running quarters of 29.0s, 30.3s, 28.6s and 28.6s, going on to score by 12.5m over Stayzbetter ($26) and Daisy Pea ($3).
The mile of 1:56.5s took half a second off the previous best time for a two-year-old filly in Tasmania of 1:57.0, which was set by Beach Diamond last year, and was only 0.3s outside the overall two-year-old state record set by Karalta Artemis in 2022.
“She was fantastic.
“She was very green but has a lot of natural ability,” said Yole.
It was like a scene from the 2005 Cox Plate, with a wall of runners across the track leaving the back straight in the second heat of the Fehlberg Produce 2YO Colts & Geldings Sweepstakes (1609m).
It was the Heath Woods-trained and driven Barber Shop ($4.20) scoring by a head over B T Captivate ($2.20 fav) and Solo Safari ($21) in 1:57.9s.
Barber Shop settled one-out and two-back and was able to sustain a run out three and four wide over the final 650m of the race.
The Lather Up gelding has now won two of his four starts, and is out of the Perfect Art mare Paris Art, the dam of Donny In Paris (10 wins) and last season’s Group 3 Globe Derby Stakes winner, Custom Harley.
Training honours across the eight-race card went to Wayne Yole, with Liam Older partnering his first two winners, Sapphire Gambler ($15) and Fleetwood Rock ($2.90), with Mitch Ford driving Yole’s last winner, Rocks Roy ($12).
