Ekaterina continues famous breeding lines for Robert Heathcote

By Glenn Davis

Another chapter in one of the state’s most successful breeding stories unfolded at Eagle Farm on Saturday when Ekaterina was part of a winning treble for trainer Robert Heathcote.

Ekaterina was the middle leg of Heathcote’s three winners, producing a dominant performance in the QTIS Three-Year-Old Handicap.

Heathcote book ended his winning day with Drive A Deal in the Benchmark 70 Handicap and Extremist in the Class 3 Handicap.

Heathcote was in Sydney to saddle Ekaterina’s Group 1 winning half-sister, Startantes in the $1 million Silver Eagle, but the Randwick meeting was washed out after six races.

Ekaterina, a daughter of Russian Revolution, was too strong for Central Queensland gelding Just Super, winning for the second time in five starts.

Heathcote has bred from many quality mares since he first started training 25 years ago but none have been better than his Just Awesome mare, Cantantes, the grand dam of Startantes and Ekaterina.

Cantantes did not make much of an impact on the race track, winning only two of her 37 starts, but is a star in the breeding barn, going on to be one of Queensland’s best brood mares over the past two decades.

Ekaterina and Startantes are daughters of Funtantes, a 10 time winner, earning more than $704,000 in prize money.

Funtantes’ best wins were the Group 2 Champagne Classic at Doomben in 2009 and Listed Nudgee Handicap and Listed Juanmo Stakes while Startantes has won six times including the Group 1 Tatt’s Tiara at Eagle Farm in June.

Startantes also ran second in the Group 1 Surround Stakes at Rosehill and third in the Group 1 Flight Stakes at Randwick in the autumn.

Heathcote has drawn favourable comparisons between their pair and is hopeful Ekaterina can go on to better things like her older sibling.

“You can hardly tell them apart and Ekaterina is going to be very similar in another year,” Heathcote said.

“I knew she was good and even though she drew a wide alley I wasn’t worried and told her owners she’d get back and run home.”

Meanwhile, Heathcote is confident Drive A Deel can extend in distance to 2000 metres after her easy win over 1600 metres.

“She’s a quality mare and she travelled beautifully behind the speed and there’s every chance she’ll run 2000 metres,” he said.