AN EMPHATIC and composed win at Bendigo on Thursday has Kyneton trainer George Osborne believing there is still a bit of improvement left in his six-year-old mare My Divas.
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The daughter of three-time Group 1-winner Helmet recorded her sixth win in 32 starts with a polished performance over the 1100m in a benchmark 64.
My Divas - an obvious stable favourite - improved her second-up strike rate to 50 per cent, with a third win from six attempts.
Osborne was always confident of a strong showing from the mare, who has picked up a win in all but one of her six race preparations, and he did not leave Bendigo disappointed.
"It became very comfortable from about the 1100m when we were one out one back from barrier 11," he said.
"All credit to Johnny (Allen) there, I thought we might have been further back, but he found the spot that we needed and he just bided time and cruised up in the straight.
"She was fantastic today (Thursday), which she can be on her day."
Osborne, who added his 11th win of the season, believed 'the best was still to come' with My Divas.
"The older she gets, the better she gets every prep," he said.
"She was a hot horse early and she's just improving all the time and I think she's still got a little bit of upside even though she's now six.
"I'd like to get her out to a journey and that may happen this preparation.
"She did win a mile race at Albury one time a couple of preps ago, but if she can get past a mile, she can probably open the doors to a few things stronger."
Meanwhile, jockey Declan Bates continued his red-hot form by notching his third double for the month.
The Group 1-winning jockey struck early on the program, when he combined with Echuca trainer Daryl Archard to win the opening race aboard Barmah Al.
He completed the double with success aboard the Cindy Alderson-trained mare La Zola in the 1000m benchmark 78.
Well supported in betting, La Zola ($3.10) returned in style following a 21-week spell, filling the stable with plenty of optimism for the future.
"We were pretty confident, Cindy and I talked about where we would start off with her and we thought a benchmark 58 would be a good start," said assistant trainer Jamie Bates.
"She was probably about 90 per cent fit and she's been placed at a Saturday meeting in town. The form was there.
"She probably needed another trial, but if you can come to Bendigo to make $10,000, you come to Bendigo to make $10,000."
Bates was certain Thursday's victory - the mare's second in 12 starts - could be a stepping stone to bigger wins.
"She's showed a bit early on and it is a good starting point for her," he said.
"I think sometimes you go to town a bit too soon; they have that hard first-up run and it sort of takes the edge off them.
"It seemed like a nice soft win for her, so she will go home and hopefully recover good and we will look for something a bit better for her."
A pair of Bendigo-trained horses to follow from Thursday's meetings are the Kym Hann-trained four-year-old Rogue Star, who finished third behind La Zola first-up from a long spell, and the Rod Symons-trained Bedouin King, who caught the eye with a fourth behind My Divas.
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