News and Media

20 October 2010

The 2009 Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale was coming to a close and local horsewoman Trish Roberts was getting edgy.

After a day of looking for a suitable horse to buy with a $5,000 budget, Roberts was empty handed.

She went hoping to secure a "nice and pretty" horse who once its racing days were over could step into the show arena.

"Obviously everyone else had the same idea at the back of their minds and everything that fitted into that bracket was selling for over $5,000," she recalled.

"Anyway it was getting late in the sale and I still hadn't bought one and then this filly stepped into the ring by McFlirt and I didn't mind her."

"They were looking for an opening bid of $1,000 so I threw my hand up - the next thing I knew the hammer was down and she was mine."

Roberts didn't get her good looker she was after - but she got a horse - and at one fifth of her modest budget she was a happy woman.

"McFlirt had done a reasonable job over here and she was from a mare by Haulpak and that also attracted me to her."

After purchasing the filly, Roberts contacted her breeder to see if her dam Supalan had produced any other foals.

"They told me the mare had died and that the filly was an orphan foal!"

More adversity was to come for the unraced filly when, after showing good ability in her early work at the track, she developed a serious case of "tying up."

Roberts said the filly suffered badly from the chronic muscle tension ailment - more than any she has been associated with.

"In fact my vet said that in all her years she had never seen a horse with such bad levels as her. There were times she was so bad we thought we might have to put her down."

Thankfully connections were able to deal with the problem and get the filly back on her way to becoming a racehorse.

Things indeed kept looking up for the McFlirt filly when in March, on the eve of her racetrack debut, her Bianconi half brother Whipsaw won the listed Bunbury Cup.

All of a sudden Roberts' $1,000 "spec" buy was looking a stroke, or indeed bid, of genius.

Comesitbesideme as the filly was now named (we'll get to the naming soon) debuted in March a few days after Whipsaw won the Bunbury Cup but nothing went right in her Ascot race.

She wasn't beaten far on debut after covering extra ground and showed she was a filly with a future when at her second start she ran fourth to Miss Condition and subsequent Karrakatta Plate winner Motion Pictures in the listed Supremacy Stakes.

Today, second up in her second racing campaign, the stars aligned and the punters cheered when Comesitbesideme led throughout for an impressive victory at Ascot.

Talented Ascot based apprentice Campbell McCallum handled the filly exceptionally well and the pair cruised home three quarters of a length clear of their nearest rival.

"Campbell did a great job," Robert said. "I wanted him to be handy and told him I wouldn't worry if he was in front if nothing else really wanted to be there."

"I'll try and find another similar race for her and hopefully she can win another one in town and we'll go from there."

So how did Comesitbesideme get her name?

"Well Supalan, her dam's name, means alongside. And one of my favourites songs is Ode to Love by Demis Roussos."

"It's a beautiful song and there's some lyrics in there - friend come sit beside me."

So there's you have it - Comesitbesideme. Roberts has promised Ode to Love will be on full blast tonight.

One again Roberts has proven - it doesn't take much of a spend at a Magic Millions Yearling Sale to make your mark on the racetrack.

"It looks like $1,000 well spent that's for sure," she laughed. "Things have really started to line up nicely for her and she looks to have a nice future."

"It's a welcome change because early on I thought anything that could go wrong, would."

"It's lucky I have bleach for my hair - to stop any grey hairs."

I wouldn't worry Trish - the greys shouldn't be around for a while now!