Promising mare resumes at Rotorua
Richard Edmunds • July 18th, 2025 3:24 PM • 3 min read
Saturday’s Novara Park (1400m) at Rotorua will be the first raceday appearance in six months for talented mare Fabulous Gal.
From a 15-start career, Fabulous Gal has recorded two wins, four placings and three fourths. She began her career with Matamata trainers Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott, for whom she scored a stylish maiden win on her home track in January of 2023 before contesting the Listed Oaks Prelude (1800m) and the Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m).
She had a change of scenery last year and moved to the Te Aroha stable of Peter Lock. The daughter of Fabulous resumed with a fourth, a third and a seventh, then romped to victory by two and a quarter lengths at Whanganui in late December.
In her most recent appearance, some 182 days ago, Fabulous Gal ran third behind Nancy She Wrote in a $65,000 Rating 65 on Wellington Cup Day at Trentham on January 18.
“She definitely showed a lot of ability in that last campaign and she’s a mare that’s always been held in quite high regard,” Lock said.
“She began her career in Matamata and put in some good performances there, but then she came over to us with a few niggly problems. We worked on sorting those out through her last campaign.
“She’s had a good break and has come back bigger and stronger and really matured into a beautiful mare.
“Her trial at Waipa (a win over 1150m on July 8) was fantastic. She didn’t carry a lot of weight, with a young apprentice on, but she won with authority and pulled up super well. That told us that we were pretty much on the mark with her.”
Fabulous Gal has previously won fresh, but Lock admits to some reservations about Rotorua’s Heavy10 track.
“I think very, very testing ground would have to be a massive question mark,” he said. “I wouldn’t be as worried about it if she’d had some runs under her belt already.
“I guess everyone’s in the same boat and they all have to get through those conditions. But a few of her opponents have that race fitness and seasoning under their belts, which might be a bit of an advantage for them.
“But it’ll be good to get her campaign underway, even though she’s wanting a better track. Safely through this, I think she’s got an exciting preparation ahead of her. She’s well above average.”
Lock also gave a positive update on stable star Debit. The five-year-old Darci Brahma mare has won four of her five starts and has the Gr.2 Waikato Stud Foxbridge Plate (1200m) at Te Rapa on August 23 on her radar.
“She’s good,” Lock said. “She also trialled up well at Waipa (second over 850m on July 8). She’s coming to hand nicely.
“She’s a year older now and had a very good break after her last campaign. She probably did a bit too well during that time off. It took her four trials to get fit last time around, and she’s had two trials so far this time in.
“It’s a bit frustrating with the very heavy tracks and trials getting called off, and the synthetic surface doesn’t suit her. But we’re getting there and I think one more trial should have her close to the mark.” – LOVERACING.NZ News Desk.
