Speed merchant Illicit Dreams doubled her black-type tally with a bold front-running performance at Riccarton.
The genuine daughter of Vancouver beat her rivals out of the gates and showed no signs of stopping in the run home to add Saturday’s Listed Pegasus Stakes over 1000 metres to her tidy record.
The Gerry Harvey-bred mare has now won five of her 19 starts for trainer Kenny Rae, including the Listed Champagne Stakes as a two-year-old, and collected a further 10 minor placings.
“That’s one for the trip down and I was thinking of going straight into the Stewards’ Stakes (Listed, 1200m) next week with her,” Rae said.
“Then I thought you can get bad luck with draws and things like that, so I decided to run her and to be fair she is probably a 1000 metre specialist.
“We got the result and she’ll back up next Saturday and we’ll see what happens.”
Illicit Dreams was first into stride to make the running and was going well at the top of the straight.
She was hotly pursued in the run home, but the four-year-old was in her usual determined frame of mind and answered every call of rider Sam Spratt to earn the thick end of the stake.
“They said she had been working beautifully and she got the kick right,” Spratt said.
“She cruised around at a good speed, she is a very quick type and won well.”
Illicit Dreams was offered through Westbury Stud’s draft at New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale and secured by Rae for $30,000.
She is a daughter of the late Snitzel mare Illicit Romance who was out of a half-sister to the Group 3 winners Sheer Talent, who also placed in the G1 Australian Guineas, Kittens and Saint Encosta.