It has been a long wait for Abyssinian, but the 4YO mare produced a dazzling performance to win on debut at Cranbourne on January 5.
The daughter of Magic Albert was bought as a weanling for $26,000 by her trainer Enver Jusufovic and co-owner Rob Patterson, but immaturity and a tangle with a fence that left the filly heavily scarred has kept her from the racetrack.
Abyssinian had trialled impressively leading into her first start although when the rain arrived early in the evening, EJ said he was concerned about the mare handle the ground.
She was perfectly ridden by Dwayne Dunn who praised EJ for the Abyssinian’s good education and he said she had a bright future.
“Dwayne said she did everything he asked of her, and he feels she will be even better of a bit more ground. Her pedigree suggests she should be at her best at 1400-1600 metres,” Enver said.
Abyssinian’s win broke a frustrating run of placings for Enver—his previous six starters since December 23 had filled a placing, including three in town … and some unlucky.
Abyssinian has had a strong grounding to continue on with this preparation. The mare is owned by Patterson, Enver and another long-time stable client, Sam Nash.