Strong duo take out Pinjarra feature

Monday saw the running of the $30,000 2021 Daintys Daughter Country Classic at Pinjarra with this year going to the Nathan Turvey-trained and Emily Suvaljko-driven, Captains Beachbabe.

It can’t be denied that this duo is in impressive form as late, with Suvaljko walking away from Monday’s meeting with a driving treble.

The three-year-old filly entered the Nathan Turvey stables in early May and has since gone on to take out a Metropolitan three-year-old race at Gloucester Park, run fifth in the Group One 3YO Westbred Fillies Classic (taken out by stablemate Bettor Beach Belle) and now adding the classic to her resume.

“I was disappointed with her (Captains Beachbabe) start before, so changed a few things around, but didn’t think she would go as good as she did,” Turvey said.

“I had been happy with her and then she had a setback going into the Group One Westbred Fillies Classic, but I think she is back on track now.”

Driven by Emily Suvaljko, Captains Beachbabe managed to sit out the leader to win by a short-half-head in 1:59:4, taking out the feature narrowly over Rumour Has It, who took out the Group 2 Daintys Daughter at Gloucester Park in February.

“Captains Beachbabe was a surprise, shes definitely got the ability but from the draw and having to breeze outside of Black Jack Baby, I knew it was going to be a hard task,” Suvaljko said.

Nathan Turvey plans to race Captain Beachbabe in the remaining three-year-old filly races this season until she shows signs of needing a spell.

There seems to be no signs of slowing down, with Suvaljko sitting on 80 wins for the season, taking her career wins to 283.

“I definitely believe I’ve grown as a driver and much more so since I’ve started working for Nathan (Turvey). He’s got quality horses and most of them are very versatile, so I am able to put them in to the race if need be,” Suvaljko said.

“Captains Beachbabe is probably the best example of my growth. I drove her last Friday and sat outside Donald eyeballing him but still allowed him to go a slow first half and when the sprint went on, my horse couldn’t quite go with him.

“On Monday I changed my tactics and kept Black Jack Baby rolling along knowing my horse cant really sprint and with a little bit of luck and Voaky (Chris Voak) getting a flat tyre at the 1000m, we were able to get the chocolates.”

Emily who made her driving debut in the 17/18 season as a teen has worked for several different stables, gaining experiences from some of the leading stables in the state, but her time with Nathan Turvey is one in which she is grateful for.

“I consider going to work for Nathan as one of the best decisions I’ve made as a driver. He gives me the opportunity to sit behind some quality animals and I’ve also made connections with other trainers through him,” she said.

Nathan Turvey currently runs a team of 15 horses including last start winners Miracle Moose NZ, Shakira Blue as well as the well performing Savvy Bromac NZ and Rockin Rufus just to name a few.

Daintys Daughter Country Classic past winners:

By Ashleigh Paikos for RWWA