I’m The Boss takes out Cheviot feature

She’s far from the finished product, but I’m The Boss (Bettor’s Delight) looks to have talent in spades in the way she won the $40,000 G3 Donaghy’s Pro Equine Leonard Memorial at Addington today.

Blair Orange took the two year old filly straight to the top but had to fight off stablemate Wat Fun early. After that Orange dictated all the sectionals, going down to the line to win by half a length from Wat Fun with Validation two and a half lengths back in third.

I’M THE BOSS REPLAY

“Blair said she was getting in slightly and she did down south as well. I said to him that we’ll probably just put her out now. I think she’s just telling us she’s had enough. She just wasn’t steering 100%,” said Hayden Cullen who trains in partnership with his wife Amanda.

Cullen was also happy with Wat Fun.

“She was really good. She didn’t do much last preparation. This is her first real crack at working up probably and it was the third time off the property today. She’ll take a lot of improvement out of the run. We actually like her. She’ll press on because she was a bit late in getting going. She’ll press on to the Bionic Chance.”

I’m The Boss was bred by Katie Williamson and her parents Ross and Robyn Jones and is the fourth foal out of Christian Cullen mare Hopes And Dreams – the winner of seven, one for Geoff and Jude Knight and six for Graeme Anderson.

Hopes And Dreams is out of the star mare One Dream and was sold by Jill Smolenski at the 2014 National Yearling Sales to Southlander Neville Cleaver who raced her.

I’m The Boss was also sold unnamed at the Yearling Sales when presented by John and Katrina Price, (SBSR) selling to Cullen Racing for $70,000.

“Amanda spotted her on the tour. We looked at her on parade day at the sale yards and really liked her. She was just a bit bossy at home. A few names were chucked around and that one stuck. A lot of those nice fillies and mares have a bit of attitude about them.”

It’s the sixth time Orange has won the feature. His other winning drives were Idancedallnight (2004), Lancome (2009), Dancing Diamonds (2011), Supersonic Miss (2014 and Delightful Memphis (2016).

“We didn’t really plan to line her up this weekend. For a young horse it’s a big enough trip (to Winton) for them. But she came through the trip really well, was really bright and her work was good, so we thought we’d chuck a nomination in. There ended up being only six in it so we thought we might as well have a run around.”

Included in I’m The Boss’s ownership group is the Cullen Racing Syndicate 2025.

“A lot of them come from the Alabar Syndicate and there’s quite a few new people in that syndicate as well, first time owners, so it worked out super. There were a fair few of them on the track today so it was a good result for everyone.”

Later in the programme Dreaminthemaking, a full-sister to Hopes And Dreams, produced a winner when Captain Cool won for trainer Korbyn Newman.

For complete race results, click here.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink