VINASTA - A GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

By Graham Potter | Saturday, October 21, 2023

Talk about taking no prisoners!

The Corey and Kylie Geran trained Vinasta might have missed out (when finishing third) in the Country Cups Challenge Qualifier / Tara Cup Open Handicap over 1400m (held at Dalby) last time out, but the ever-game, now eight-year-old mare is something of a gift that keeps on giving for the Geran stable and her ownership group who race in the Kobie O’Brien’s KO Racing colours.

It didn’t take long for Vinasta to set the record straight and she did so in the most emphatic terms when she tackled the Country Cups Challenge Qualifier / Wondai Cup Open contest on October 21.

Stepping up in distance to the 1577m, Vinasta, under Gary Geran, could not have been more clinical in the way he went about his business … from start to finish.

Pushed out by Geran from the worst of the draw (barrier ten out of ten), Vinasta, the $5.50 third favourite, was quickly right up with the speed, crossing under a great ride to fill second place briefly before settling into third spot as the $3.30 favourite Portnoy led the field past winning post for the first time.

When the field emerged out of the dust cloud going down the back straight, Portnoy still held the lead with Vinasta holding the inside run in the trio of horses racing a couple of lengths in behind the leader.

Just as he wasn’t going to waste any time coming out of the gates, Geran was in a similar no-nonsense mood as he asked Vinasta to accelerate early in the sweep to the home turn.

The daughter of I Am Invincible was keen to respond, and she not only closed up strongly on Portnoy, but she also left all of the other runners struggling in her wake.

Once Vinasta, carried significant momentum, ranged up alongside Portnoy as these two runners approached to home turn, it was a contest in two … but only briefly as Gearn and Vinasta were not about to hang around with Vinasta going on with it and quickly asserting her authority to speed away to the eleventh victory of her career.

But wait there’s more.

The home straight at Wondai is only a little over 300m … yet in that relatively short sprint home, Vinasta extended her winning margin to eight lengths … that’s right, eight lengths … meaning her large group of always enthusiastic connections would have been celebrating long before the mare crossed the finish line.

Vinasta has now scored nine wins, eleven second places and eight third place finishes in thirty-nine starts since transferring to the Geran stable from trainer Tony Gollan.

Her overall race record now stands at eleven wins, fourteen runner-up finishes and ten third place finishes in fifty-four starts with $261 505 banked in prize-money.

*The $200 000 Country Cups Challenge final will take place at Doomben on December 2.

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