Bounced around like a pinball in the run, the Rebel Dane filly Fireburn scored an unbelievable win in Saturday’s $5million Group 1 Longines Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill.
It was a second win in the world’s richest two-year-old race for trainer Gary Portelli and jockey Brenton Avdulla.
After copping a check and forced back to third last, Fireburn powered home along the fence to power home to win running away by two and a half lengths from the Snitzel colt Best Of Bordeaux, with a long neck back to the Written Tycoon filly Coolangatta in third.
It was the fourth win in five starts for Fireburn whose earnings rocket to $3,037,250.
Portelli admitted he had given up on Fireburn when she was stopped in her tracks.
“And then you could see her building and going through her revs, what a finish,” Portelli said.
“Unbelievable. Rebel Dane, who’d have thought he would throw a Golden Slipper winner?
“Congratulations to (managing owner) Louis Mihalyka and the team. I am forever thankful to them for giving me Rebel Dane to start with and then a daughter of his and it just continued the great story.
“She has been the biggest improver in the stable that I’ve ever seen. I said this week, she has peaked so well.
“This morning, I had to go and work her. I was going to give her an easy day but she was too fresh, so I had to go and give her some work and she has turned up here and smashed them.
“She is the best two-year-old in Australia right now and I’ve got no doubt she will be the best three-year-old next year.
“Brenton has gone to a new level. Sometimes you have an injury and he’s had a situation where he has probably looked at his career and he’s potentially had his lifestyle taken away from him and they come back and realise what they’ve got.
“It’s the greatest sport. It’s the highs and lows, you’ve got to put up with the lows and hope the highs come back and here he has come back from a serious injury and won two Group Ones in a month, so it just goes to show, don’t give up.”
Avdulla said he had given up winning on Fireburn after she continually ran into trouble.
“I was happy early. They went along for a furlong and I just couldn’t hold a spot,” Avdulla said.
“I was trying to keep Brett (Pebble) out, but I was just going to be burning, so I was just happy to let her come back and let him hopefully crash tackle a few of them for me.
“Once we got out of the shoot there was a real shuffle up and it felt like the speed came out of the race and I almost sold out and lost plenty of momentum and ended up back second last.
“From the 500m onwards I just thought ‘I can’t win the race, I’m just gonna get a couple and earn some prizemoney.
“Once I straightened up and got balanced and started to pick them off one-by-one, I got to the 200m thinking ‘this thing is going to win’.
“I knew I was home at the furlong, I just had to get out.”
A Laurel Oak Bloodstock homebred, Fireburn is the first foal of the winning So You Think mare Mull Over, purchased by Laurel Oak for $22,000 from the Lime Country draft at the 2018 National Broodmare Sale.
Fireburn is a first winner at the highest level for her sire and a first for so You Think as a broodmare sire.
Mull Over is a half-sister to dual Listed stakes-winner Galizani (Galileo).
Mull Over's dam Zahani (Zabeel) is a daughter of the Group 1 Flight Stakes winner Danarani Danehill).
Fireburn is a daughter of Laurel Oaks dual Group 1 winner, Rebel Dane, whose first crop includes the Group III winner Subterranean and stakes-placed Lloyd's Crown.
