Awapuni trainer Lisa Latta celebrated her fifth win in the Gr.3 Gee & Hickton Funeral Directors Thompson Handicap (1600m) when Diss Is Dramatic scored an emphatic victory in Saturday’s $100,000 feature at Trentham.
Latta had previously won the race with Resonare (2000), Fercertain (2008), Jonbalena (2009) and last year’s winner He’s A Doozy, who went on to add the Gr.3 Coupland’s Bakeries Mile (1600m) and Gr.1 Thorndon Mile (1600m) in an impressive spring and summer campaign.
The latest addition to that list is Diss Is Dramatic, who has now been a black-type winner at the ages of two, three and four. She won the Listed Champagne Stakes (1200m) at Riccarton in the autumn of her juvenile season, then returned to Christchurch the following spring and added the Gr.3 War Decree Stakes (1600m).
The daughter of Dissident kicked off her four-year-old season with two appearances during the Hawke’s Bay Spring Carnival, finishing a close fifth over 1400m on September 9 before stepping up to 1600m three weeks later and winning comfortably.
Diss Is Dramatic returned to stakes company at Trentham on Saturday and delivered a repeat result in the hands of jockey Tina Comignaghi.
The pace was strong in the early stages of the Thompson Handicap, with half a dozen horses charging forward out of the gates to make an early claim for the lead. Diss Is Dramatic was one of them, but as that leading bunch dispersed and horses took up their positions, Comignaghi found a perfect spot in third behind Bully Boy and Flower Of Wanaka.
Comignaghi drove Diss Is Dramatic through a narrow gap between those two runners in the straight, and the classy mare quickly burst to a clear lead.
Mazzolino finished strongly wider out on the track to reduce the margin to a length at the finish, but Diss Is Dramatic was never in any danger of defeat.
Raced by the Go Racing All About Me Syndicate, Diss Is Dramatic has now had 16 starts for five wins, three placings and $223,320 in stakes.
Latta is keen to stick to the He’s A Doozy blueprint from 12 months ago, with the Coupland’s Bakeries Mile at Riccarton on November 15 the next target for Diss Is Dramatic. The TAB now rates her a $5 second favourite behind It’s Business Time ($3.20) for the $250,000 feature.
“That was a great performance today,” Latta said. “She drew the inside gate and was able to enjoy an economical run during the race. It briefly looked like she might be a bit unlucky early in the straight, but Tina was able to get her into the open and she finished it off really strongly.
“As long as she pulls up well from this, she’ll head down to Christchurch for the Coupland’s Mile.”