TWO-YEAR-OLD chestnut filly Hoist The Mast , bred by Blue Pepsi Lodge out of the Vanadium mare Opulent, made a promising debut when winning a maiden special weight contest over four furlongs (800m) straight.

All eyes, all attention and all tongues were placed on She’s A Wonder after some bullet gallops in the mornings.

She’s A Wonder was expected to get off the mark right away but Hoist The Mast had a different idea. The Anthony Nunes trainee led from the start of the race and held on by a nose from She’s A Wonder, the half-sister of the former talented racer Boy Wonder.

Jockey Dick Cardenas had difficulties entering the starting gates but had Hoist The Mast out and running with the rest of the seven runners. Hoist The Mast held the lead over She’s A Wonder (Dane Dawkins) and Sure Curlin (Raddesh Roman), the latter being the first of new stallion Perfect Curlin to race.

Coming across the quarter, She’s A Wonder carried her challenge forward but Cardenas kept his mount well balanced and Hoist The Mast held on by the slimmest of margins — a nose. The winning time for the event was an encouraging 46.1, with the first half of the race done in 22.4 seconds. Sure Curlin was 6 ½ lengths behind She’s A Wonder to earn third place.

After the race Cardenas said that he was very confident as he knew that his horse has the ability to beat her rivals.

“From the very first time I worked this horse [ Hoist The Mast], I fell in love with her. She has nice speed and is easy to handle as well. After working her, I turned to the trainer and told him I would like to ride this horse and he said to me “you can have the ride”.

“She broke well in the race and I felt the danger on the outside, but at the time I felt like I had a lot of horse under me. I just waited for the right moment to make my move to go again.

“ Hoist The Mast really performed well and she looks like a good one for the future. She has a lot of speed but she will have to develop first,” Cardenas told this publication.