Komocean Cruises to Victory at Trentham

Komocean winning Saturdays 3YO (1200m) at Trentham. Photo: Peter Rubery (Race Images Palmerston North)

Promising filly Komocean(NZ) (Ocean Park) made it two wins from two starts when she dealt to her rivals in fine style when taking out the second event on the card at Trentham, the Breeze Wellington 3YO (1200m).

Trainer Allan Sharrock has a big opinion of the Ocean Park filly and expressed it after she overcame a slow start when winning impressively on her home track at New Plymouth earlier in the month.

Punters agreed and sent the half-sister to former Gr.1 Telegraph (1200m) winner Signify out a warm favourite ($2.40) in the five-horse field on Saturday and she delivered a similar performance to her debut effort in the hands of rider Craig Grylls.

After missing away by a length Grylls allowed Komocean to find her feet and was still at the tail of the field rounding the home bend.

Angled to the middle of the track, Komocean produced several huge bounds to level up to the pacemakers before easing clear to win decisively by nearly two lengths from Matamata visitor Ballon d’Or in a slick 1.08.46 for the 1200m journey.

Sharrock had been confident before the race and has black type targets on the horizon for the filly that he purchased for $80,000 during the Book 1 Sale at Karaka in 2023.

“She’s very raw but very good I think,” Sharrock said.

“Her family is pretty slick, but being by Ocean Park, if you train her right she might get a trip.

“We want black type for her but it might be in the autumn as she is still pretty fragile so I might just put her away for a while.”

Grylls was also suitably impressed by the performance.

“She is a filly with a lot of untapped ability as she is still very green,” he said.

“She did a bit wrong but it is all in front of her. She ambled up to them at the 300m and when I went for her she really kicked away.”

Raced by a syndicate that includes Sharrock, Komocean was bred by the Hawkins family under their LLanhennock Trust banner from the mare Pica Pica who is also the dam of 2016 Gr.1 Manawatu Sires Produce Stakes (1400m) runner-up El Sicario.