She might not carry the same hype as Autumn Glow, but another undefeated winner at Randwick last Saturday looks to have a bright future.
Three-year-old filly Brave Xena, trained at Canberra by Luke Pepper, made it three wins from as many starts when she took out last Saturday’s Class 3 TAB Highway Handicap (1000m). 
Three-kilo claiming apprentice Mollie Fitzgerald settled the filly three wide and just off the pace before taking her out to the centre of the track in the straight to make her run. 
On finding open space, Brave Xena ($4.20) accelerated quickly to hit the front and win by a length from the favourite, Neil, with a similar margin to third-placed Satin Stiletto. 
“It’s an awesome feeling to ride a winner for Luke. He’s had a sad loss in his family so a very emotional win for him, I’m sure,” Fitzgerald said, in reference to the death of the trainer’s father, Bruce, the previous day. 
“There’s nothing of her,” she said of Brave Xena. “She’s only tiny but she doesn’t know that. 
“She began really well and they rolled along really quick. 
“There were options. I was just going to be positive but we were going to be out of our comfort zone going any quicker so I just let her build. 
“Luke had informed me that she has a really good turn of foot so I just let her balance up and she did the rest.” 
Pepper completed a successful weekend with the win of odds-on favourite Gaelic Gem in the $50,000 Super Maiden at the Sapphire Coast on Sunday, ridden by Jean Van Overmeire.
Locals rule
It was a good day for the locals at Newcastle last Saturday, with the David Atkins stable leading the way.
Atkins kicked off proceedings with debutante Potomac River, heavily backed from $9 to $4.80, recording a comfortable 1¾-length win in the $60,000 two-year-olds’ Super Maiden (900m).
Later, Atkins took the $150,000 Provincial-Midway Championships Qualifier (1400m) with $2.90 favourite Buffalo. Oakfield Jupiter, trained at Wyong by Damien Lane, ran second to grab the other qualifying spot.
Another local, the Kris Lees-trained $3.40 favourite Via Flaminia, took the benchmark 64 Dungog Cup (1300m) , while another Novocastrian to impress was the Mark Minervini-trained Shall Be in a 900-metre benchmark 68. 
With three-kilo claiming apprentice Grady Spokes in the saddle, Shall Be started a $2.10 favourite and romped away to a four-length win over Mr Trackside. It was his fifth win from 14 starts and the four-year-old looks to have more to come. 
Around the traps
Sapphire Coast was the venue for Sunday’s SERA Country Championships Qualifier (1400m), where the Joe Cleary-trained Queanbeyan mare Vermicella ($9) recorded a comfortable 2¾-length win with Quayde Krogh in the saddle.
 Canadian Ruler was second, securing the other spot in next month’s Randwick final for Goulburn trainer Matt Dale.
Kembla Grange’s Theresa Bateup and the Canberra-based Joseph/Jones team led in winning doubles at the meeting. 
At Coffs Harbour the same afternoon, the Daniel Wheeler-trained Sivo ($8.50) was impressive winning the $50,000 Super Maiden (1212m) by three lengths under Raymond Spokes. The win brought up a double for local trainer Wheeler, who’d won the opening race, a 1010-metre maiden with Kemal ($6), ridden by Danny Peisley — also by three lengths. 
Last Friday at Goulburn, Keagan Latham rode four winners on the eight-race program, two of them for the John O’Shea/ Tom Charlton training partnership. 
Whopper weekend
This Saturday is cup day on the mighty Murray at Corowa and in the central west at the Tottenham picnics, with the features over 1600 and 1400 metres respectively.
Sunday the spotlight is on Canberra for its major race meeting of the year, highlighted by the $200,000 Group 3 Black Opal (1200m) for two-year-olds, the listed $200,000 Canberra Cup (2000m), the listed $165,000 National Sprint (1400m) and the listed $165,000 Canberra Guineas (1400m).
Sunday is also Showcase day at Muswellbrook Race Club, featuring the Hunter & North West Racing Association’s $150,000 Country Championships Qualifier (1280m), a $50,000 Super Maiden over the same trip and the $30,000 Skellatar Sprint (900m).
Black-booker
• Cruizingthestars: This three-year-old filly, trained at Goulburn by Scott Collings, was sent out a $1.45 favourite on debut in the 1100-metre maiden at her home track last Friday and won accordingly, with Pierre Boudvillain doing the steering, by 3¼ lengths.