Bendigo, often referred to as the ‘Nursery of Champions’, could be the venue where I Am Aria follows in the footsteps of numerous ‘Black Type’ winners who achieved their maiden victories there. Horses of the calibre of Hyperno, Better Loosen Up, Shocking, Campaign King, Star Of The Realm, Miami Bound, and Hollow Bullet all had early wins at the track situated about 150kms from Melbourne.
I Am Aria may be the latest to add her name to this prestigious list after her victory in the Sandhurst Stockfeeds Maiden Plate (1000m) on Wednesday. Sent out as the $1.65 favourite under jockey Michael Dee, I Am Aria recorded a 1-½ length win from Novamira ($4.40), with Silent Devotion ($21) finishing a length behind in third.
The filly had displayed promise in her initial campaign, securing placings in the Blue Diamond Prelude and Blue Preview. However, her campaign was disrupted when she burst through the front of the barriers in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield in February. Following this incident, I Am Aria was sent for a spell and was having her first start since, proving too strong for her rivals despite the wet conditions.
“It’s always a relief to kick off the three-year-old season like that,” trainer Mark Walker told racing.com. “She’s got Black Type already, but it would be good to win a Black Type race. She’s got a beautiful pedigree, so it’s onwards and upwards.”
Walker mentioned that horses from sire I Am Invincible generally improve with age, a trait he anticipates for I Am Aria. “We put her aside after she had that hiccup in the Blue Diamond and she had a lovely spell,” Walker said. “(Assistant-trainer) Ben (Gleeson) and I have seen the development in her in the way she had been working, and she seems a more mature filly. Hopefully, she can go a very good level, with a bit of luck.”
The trainer has identified the Group 3 Cap D’antibes Stakes (1100m) at Flemington on September 12 as the filly’s next potential assignment. Michael Dee, who rode I Am Aria in her first start, commented that the filly was bigger and stronger after her break. “She’s definitely made progress,” Dee said. “She still has her winter coat on her but is getting better day by day and what she showed me today, there’s plenty more to come from her.”
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