A career-high success in last Sunday’s $250,000 Group 3 Hobart Cup (2400m) for trainer Imogen Miller and hoop Erica Byrne Burke has been marred by controversy with midweek revelations that the barriers were not in the correct starting position.
Miller’s charge, Blonde Star ($31), was able to score the narrowest of wins over the Ciaron Maher-trained race favourite Ziryab, with Peter Luttrell’s 2025 Launceston Cup winner Distrustful Award surging home late to finish just a head behind them in what was deemed track-record time.
Given that the race was 37 metres short of the intended journey, that record is unlikely to stand. A strong case can be made that Luttrell’s runner should’ve won the race given that he was in front two strides past the post and the Longford trainer is understandably filthy.
An inquiry will be conducted by Tasracing into the mishap.
Elsewhere on the card, Barry Campbell’s boom filly Sanniya enhanced her already imposing record with another brilliant display of sustained speed, running her rivals ragged in the $150,000 Group 3 Mystic Journey Stakes over 1200 metres.
The daughter of Stratosphere made light work of the outside draw under regular hoop Craig Newitt before giving her rivals the slip on straightening and cruising to a soft two-length win.
The boom filly has now won six of seven appearances and earned her connections almost $400,000.
Campbell went close to a feature race-double when Durazzo loomed to win the $150,000 listed Thomas Lyons Stakes over 1400 metres despite missing the kick and being posted wide throughout. He was worn down in the concluding stages by the Paul Preusker-prepared Steparty.
The heavily supported Artie Schiller gelding ($3.20-$2.70 favourite) hadn’t managed a win since taking the Caulfield Guineas Prelude in September 2023 but proved too strong after enjoying a nice trail midfield under John Allen.
The other feature on the card, the $125,000 listed Strutt Stakes (2100m), went to the John Blacker-trained Daytona Diva, who despite facing the breeze was able to score by 1¾ lengths over Victorian raider Aurora Rise. They gapped the others.
The victory provided her rider, apprentice Jabez Johnstone, with his first stakes success.