Trainer Simon Zahra was finding it hard to split the chances of stablemates Mrs Beckham (NZ) (Torondado) and Parmie (Snitzel) ahead of their clash at Caulfield.
And with good reason.
Mrs Beckham, coming off a maiden win at the same track on December 18, held off a late charge from Parmie in Saturday’s Margaret Hogan Handicap (1400m) to beat her by a short-head in a stable quinella for co-trainers Mathew Ellerton and Zahra.
Zahra believes both fillies will progress to better things later in the season, with an Oaks campaign on the radar for the Kevin Hickman bred and raced Mrs Beckham.
Mrs Beckham enjoyed an uninterrupted run under jockey Chris Symons from barrier three and Zahra was pleased with her performance.
“Mrs Beckham keeps taking every step,” he said. “It’s good to have two nice fillies in the stable.
“Mrs Beckham is out of a Zabeel mare and I think once she gets over a bit of ground she’s going to be a really good filly.
“We’ll maybe give her a freshen up and maybe target one of the Oaks.”
