Mick Van Gestel’s charge, Dark Glitter, guided by apprentice Anna Roper, secured its first victory in 494 days with a scintillating performance over 1200m in the Ranvet Handicap.
This win followed similar drought-breaking efforts on the same program, with General Salute ending a 458-day layoff in the Winter Stakes, Polyglot snapping a 525-day winless streak in the Kia Ora Handicap, and Anythink Goes claiming his first win in an impressive 856 days in the TAB Handicap.
The meeting at Rosehill saw female riders dominate, with six of the first eight races won by female jockeys. Roper achieved a double, having earlier won on Nullarbor Jane, while Siena Grima also rode two winners aboard Omolong and Hello Captain. Izzy Neale was successful on It’s A Tata, and Alysha Collett partnered Anythink Goes.
Van Gestel revealed that he had contemplated entering Dark Glitter in the Listed Winter Stakes but opted for the more favourable conditions of the Ranvet Handicap.
“This race was short of her best but the Winter Stakes was a much stronger field,” Van Gestel stated. “I decided to go for the 1200m race because it was probably the easiest race she has contested for ages.”
Dark Glitter, sent off at $14, produced a strong finishing burst to overtake the front-running Smashing Time ($2.70 favourite), winning by a margin of one-and-a-quarter lengths. Midnight Opal ($9) finished a further length behind in third.
The mare’s victory offered attractive returns through leading betting apps Australia, while the beaten favourite, Smashing Time, had attracted significant market support.
Smashing Time, aiming for its third consecutive winter victory, appeared poised for victory when it surged clear from the chasing pack at the top of the straight, but it was unable to match Dark Glitter’s superior closing speed.
Prior to her Rosehill triumph, Dark Glitter had secured four placings at stakes level over the past two years, elevating her career earnings to close to $650,000.
Van Gestel had attempted to sell Dark Glitter as a broodmare earlier this year. However, when the mare failed to meet her reserve price, the trainer made the decision to continue her racing career.
“She’s a very good mare and obviously still racing as well as ever,” Van Gestel commented. “Hopefully we won’t have to wait as long for her next win.”
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