Canberra trainer Nick Olive is quickly having to raise the bar with promising filly Proud Mia as he looks to send the debutante to Sydney for her second start.
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The chestnut two-year-old, ridden by Richard Bensley, burst out of the gates and led from start to finish to win a maiden plate (900 metres) at Queanbeyan Racecourse on Sunday.
She cleared out the Norm Gardner-trained Delacour by 3.63 lengths, with Neil Osbourne's Rocky Rock Art rounding out the podium.
Her dominant debut has Olive considering a Sydney race for the emerging sprinter's next start in two week's time.
"She's a promising filly. We've had big wraps on her for a while now, so it's just good to get her first start out of the way and win decisively," Olive said.
"I think she has a nice future ahead, so she'll end up in Sydney at some stage. We'll just see how she pulls up next week before deciding if she goes to Sydney or elsewhere, there's a few options in the country as well.
"We first have to see how she handles everything and how she goes forward off the run."
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Olive went two-from-two as Acton Shale claimed a benchmark 66 (1200 metres) under jockey Shaun Guymer.
The four-year-old gelding copped a check heading into the straight, but chased down Nieces And Nephews and Hard Core to win convincely.
It was Acton Shale's second win on the trot, with Olive eyeing a triple in Thoroughbred Park's Federal on Wednesday, June 3.
But first, Olive will shift his focus to next Saturday's meet at Royal Randwick.
Emerging star Tejori will be nominated for the Highway Handicap (1000 metres), with Olive hoping to go three in a row.
The three-year-old filly has claimed three from four starts, culminating in her first Highway Handicap win last start.
"She's done sensational. She had a gallop on Saturday morning and worked really well," Olive said.
"I'm really happy with her and looking forward to her next start."
Meanwhile jockey Alysha Collett had her first ride in Australia in more than two years at Sunday's meet in Queanbeyan.
Collett has been based in Singapore since 2018, but returned to Australia when racing was shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
She arrived in Sydney three weeks ago but only started riding work last Wednesday due to the mandatory isolation period.
The New Zealand native rode Clare Cunningham's Aradhana to fourth in the maiden plate (1000 metres), before finishing second with Fighting The Knead in race six.
She'll now head to Illawarra for Tuesday's meet at Kembla Grange.There Collett will mount Anthony Cummings' Perfect Impression and Think Straight, as well as Advance Party and Desert Flame.