Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Ace trainer-reinsman Colin Brown survived a scare 300 metres from home before Xceptional Arma coasted to an effortless victory in the $50,000 APG Gold Bullion for two-year-old fillies at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Xceptional Arma, the $1.04 favourite in the field of six, dashed straight to the front from barrier two, and after a slow lead time of 8.6sec. and modest opening quarters of 32.4sec. and 31.1sec. she increased the tempo with a third 400m section in 30.2sec.
The filly paced roughly about the 300m mark and threatened to break into a gallop. However, Brown kept a tight hold of her, and she quickly regained her pacing rhythm to win by two lengths from the $26 third fancy The Swindler, with Remarkable Rock ($18) fighting on to finish a half-neck away third place.
Xceptional Arma dashed over the final 400m in 27.8sec. and rated a modest 2.1 over the 1730m journey. She has raced six times for three wins and three seconds for stakes of $70,027.
She is by American Ideal and is the fifth foal out of the Artiscape mare Arma Xpress, a former outstanding juvenile who amassed $279,890 in prizemoney from 12 wins and one placings from 18 starts before being retired. As a two-year-old in 2012 Arma Xpress won two Group 1 features, the Sales Classic and the Golden Slipper, two Group 2 events, the Champagne Classic and the Westbred Classic, as well as the Group 3 Gold Bracelet.