By Brennan Ryan
Youthful trainer Matt Heilbronn claimed the first Group race of his career with a captivating performance by Dulceria in the Group 3 WESEAL Townsville Cup at Townsville on Friday night.
In lead up to the $40,000 Final, the Raceview-based trainer was bullish about his chances.
Dulceria made her way into the Group 3 Final after winning a heat last week, beating Mitchell Street convincingly and went into the event as one of the youngster runners in the field.
At just her 10th career start, Dulceria lined up from box three in the event as an $11 chance.
The daughter of Zambora Brockie and Cindy Rumble jumped well in settling into second spot behind the early race leader Flying Jet, who was mapped out as the genuine pacemaker of the Cup field.
Dulceria overtook Flying Jet in the straight, scoring by a length with Excuse Me Jack third in 28.89 seconds.
Heilbronn was elated with the effort of his home-bred chaser, taking on the elite in just his 10th start.
“It was a big ask to step up in this company, but she couldn’t have gone any better,” Heilbronn said.
“There have been a few runs early in Dulceria’s career that indicated she could run; I was concerned more that Flying Jet (box five) would lead but with a clear run I knew she could run the race to win.”