Delight for Capel trainer-reinsman Aiden De Campo who causes boilover at Gloucester Park

Country filly Sovrana caused a major boilover when Capel trainer-reinsman Aiden De Campo drove her to win the $50,000 Group 2 Daintys Daughter Classic (2130m) at Gloucester Park on Friday night. Sovrana, starting at $63.90, scored by a half-neck from pacemaker In The Spotlight ($25.70) while Wall Street Girl ($52.30) finished third and Little Darling ($7.60) was fourth. The $1.20 favourite Wonderful To Fly, a winner at her previous 10 starts, finished last of 12 after beginning slowly and enduring a hard run. A TAB trifecta dividend of $27,227.30 for a $1 investment was declared and the first four paid $31,069.30. De Campo, who trains Sovrana in Capel, is likely to set her for next month’s $150,000 WA Oaks and the $200,000 WA Derby in November. “Our filly was unplaced in her three races leading up to the Daintys Daughter,” Sovrana’s part-owner Peter Morris said. “But she’s always shown promise and has a career tally of seven wins from 21 starts. “In the past, Sovrana was sometimes inconsistent, but it’s expected she’ll now hold form. We’re keen for her to tackle the Oaks and Derby.” Sovrana, who rated 1:56.7 on Friday night, will strive to become the first filly since Whitbys Miss Penny (1991) to win the WA Derby. Trainer-reinsman Shane Young was relieved when Wonderful To Fly walked freely after the Daintys Daughter. “Her legs seem sound,” Young said. “But she was far below her best, finishing almost 25m behind the winner. “Something’s not right and I’ll have blood tests taken with a view to diagnosing if she has an internal issue.” Wonderful To Fly, a winner at 21 of her previous 31 starts, was expected to lead clearly from gate one. But the classic’s first shock came when she looked lethargic at the barrier and Sovrana rocketed to the front. De Campo, who over early stages allowed In The Spotlight to take up pacemaking, received a perfect trail in second position. Wonderful To Fly moved from third spot near the 1600m and began racing outside In The Spotlight. But the favourite was under pressure about 500m from home and quickly dropped out. Class four-year-old Lavra Joe, a $1.04 favourite, had earlier set a slick pace and won the $30,000 Past Presidents’ Cup (2130m). Greenbushes-based Lavra Joe, driven by Chris Lewis and rating 1:56.4, relegated Plutonium ($19.50) to second by almost 5m while Withoutthetuh ($69.2) ran a close third. Owner-trainer Ray Jones said Lavra Joe’s next race would be the $50,000 Mount Eden Sprint (1730m) at Gloucester Park on October 7. The four-year-old, bought by Jones for $22,000 as a yearling, has won at 26 of 44 starts and earned stakes exceeding $400,000.