By Garry Dell
A three-year-old filly purchased for a paltry $1000 emerged as a princess with a debut win at Townsville's Cluden Park on Tuesday.
Sassy Diva, bought in an online auction in March, showed blistering pace to spread eagle a big field and score a two length win in the $22,000 maiden over 1000 metres.
Ridden by two-kg claiming apprentice Tahlia Fenlon, Sassy Diva started at cricket score odds and gave Emerald trainer Glenda Bell "goose bumps".
"We knew she was quick but boy didn't she show it," Bell said.
"I've only had her for 12 weeks and she can beat all of our team of 15 at home.
"She was bought from Michael Costa's offering and is particularly well bred by Deep Field out of Martika but didn't cost much when she went through the yearling sales."
Sassy Diva showed promising ability when she won a jump out as a two-year-old in impressive fashion.
However, in the next preparation she had a small stress fracture in the off hind leg and despite a lengthy spell did not return in the same promise.
Bell, who has been a regular traveller to Townsville and further north in the past, took two horses for the long trip to Tuesday's Cluden meeting.
Her other runner, Our Stormy Girl, who had won her two previous starts, missed the start slightly and was forced to do it tough to get to the lead and was beaten into fourth place by strong finishers.
Bell said she would look towards a Class 1 race for Sassy Diva "somewhere" in the next fortnight or three weeks.
"We'll see how she pulls up and look at the calendar," she said.
"There's plenty of good races around at this time of the year."
In the meantime, Bell is looking forward to the next campaign with Demurral, a Class 4 galloper, who she previously trained and now has moved south.
"I plan to send him down to David Vandyke at the Sunshine Coast and aim him at a stayers' race over a mile around Christmas time," Bell said.
Fellow female trainer Joanna Hassett was on top of the world after Bakuhatsu scored back-to-back wins in the Benchmark 55 Handicap in which he was well supported into second favourite behind Our Stormy Girl.
Bakuhatsu drew out in barrier 12 in the field of 14 and missed the start slightly.
But, teenage apprentice jockey Cody Collis, who claimed three-kgs to reduce Bakuhatsu's weight to 61kg, didn't panic and worked his way through to be in a challenging position at the top of the straight.
Collis and Raise Da Vibration - trained by another Townsville local in Georgie Holt - made their runs together.
Bakuhatsu finished slightly the better to win narrowly.
"We'll have a real think about where we go from here," Hassett said.
"He's done a good job with the big weight and Cody again rode him great."
A beaming Collis said he was a bit concerned when he missed the start slightly.
"I was a bit further back than I wanted to be but he's a pretty good horse and we were able to work through to be in a striking position at the top of the straight," Collis said.
"When I went for him he just went whoosh and I was confident near the line,"
Atherton Tablelands trainer Sharlee Hoffman kept the flag flying for female trainers with former New Zealander Heirborn giving her Townsville trainers' premiership hopes a boost with a barn storming win in the Benchmark 65 Handicap over 1200 metres.
Heirborn, a winner over 2030 metres at Doomben at his previous start back in August last year, got up in the last few strides to score from an unlucky War General.