Klairelle gave her connections a few anxious pre-race moments before she added to her burgeoning record on Saturday when she came from well back in the field for a strong second-up victory over 1600 metres at Te Rapa.
The Gerry Harvey-bred and raced daughter of Savabeel had become fractious in the gates and had to undergo a veterinary check before taking her place.
The well-related daughter of Savabeel drifted back on the fence before rider Sam Weatherley angled her off the rail before the turn and the mare finished powerfully between runners in the closing 250 metres.
“She’s a tough mare who put on a bit of a song and dance before the race, but she’s very smart,” trainer Stephen Marsh said.
“There’s still plenty of improvement in her and it’s all ahead of her. She’s quite a big, tall mare and has taken time to mature and we’ve never wanted to rush her.”
Klairelle has now won two of her six starts and her four placings includes a third in last season’s Listed Oaks Prelude at New Plymouth.
“That won’t be the last bit of black type she gets, that’s for sure,” Marsh said.
The Cambridge-based horseman is more than happy to continue his patient approach to fully realise Klairelle’s potential.
“She’ll run over a mile again at her next start and we’ve got to harness her temperament a bit,” Marsh said.
“We want to space her races a fair bit and she’ll end up a very good mare. We’ll look after her and she’ll look after us.
She is out of the Redoute’s Choice mare Kittens, who was a talented mare and won the G3 Chairman’s Stakes, the Listed Hill Smith Stakes and finished fourth at Group 1 level in the VRC Oaks and South Australian Derby.
Also the dam of an unraced Redwood juvenile filly named Koneko, Kittens is a half-sister to the Group 3 winners Saint Encosta and Sheer Talent.
Her pedigree page also features the Group 1-winning siblings Bonanova, Fraternity and Telesto.