By Mark Ryan

MELBOURNE, May 20 AAP - Beautifully-bred three-year-old filly Starfish belatedly landed her first metropolitan success at Sandown and trainer David Hayes is hopeful she can win a black-type race this preparation.

The daughter of Redoute's Choice, out of Group One Australia Stakes winner Stella Cadente, was bred and is raced by Moonee Valley Racing Club chairman Bob Scarborough.

At her race debut she was narrowly beaten by Exceedingly Good in the Maribyrnong Trial Stakes (1000m) at Flemington in October 2007.

However it took her until her ninth outing to break through for her first win when resuming in a Ballarat fillies and mares maiden over 1000m this March.

After a 1200m Moonee Valley placing and a sixth to Lisas Lago over 1400m at Sandown, Hayes reassessed the filly.

"She's one of the best workers we've got and I took the view that she's probably leaving it on the track," Hayes said.

"So she hasn't done any fast work for two and a half weeks and with the blinkers on and back to the 1000 metres, it worked.

"She ran a pretty smart time (56.11 seconds) today. She was beaten narrowly in the first two-year-old race of her year so she's been threatening to be a stakes filly for years and we just wanted to get her winning.

"It was a very competitive race today and maybe Bob (Scarborough) can get a black-type win with her as a sprinter.

"I'll keep her going and try and make her a Saturday filly, she's stakes-placed and if she can win a stakes race she's very valuable.

"Maybe the Dermody will be a nice race for her."

The Group Three Dermody Stakes (1000m), a two and three-year-old event run under weight-for-age conditions, is at Morphettville in late July.

Ridden by Brad Rawiller in Wednesday's Silvermoor Hcp (1000m), Starfish ($11) showed plenty of speed and held on well to score by a length from Betty's Belle $10) with Bel Shoes ($11) a length away third.

Starfish gave Hayes his 56th metropolitan winner in Victoria for the season and he currently trails Lee Freedman by six wins in the Melbourne trainers' premiership.

"I'll certainly be having a go for the next couple of weeks and if I don't look like it I'll save it for next year," the seven-time premier trainer said.

"I've got a few in-form horses ready to step out."

Earlier, the Freedman stable landed its 62nd Melbourne winner of the season when Gibraltar Moon ($2.50 fav) completed a winning hat-trick in the Cardinia Hcp (1000m) with apprentice Ibrahim Gundogdu aboard.

AAP TURF mr/gm



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