O’Reilly mare Skywards (O’Reilly x Sarwatch) broke her maiden status in the $7,000 Blair Stevens NZR Real Estate MDN 1300 at Wairarapa Racecourse on Friday.

Skywards made her racing debut as a three-year-old with just one start and resumed to the track just three months ago, now as a five-year-old. This campaign has seen her place in three of her five starts for trainers Steven Ramsay and Julia Ritchie.

“Skywards has been knocking on the door with a couple of good placings,” commented Ramsay. “We put the blinkers on her for the first time and she settled back and got a nice run in transit.

“Matthew Cameron got her out in the home straight and she just exploded away and won by three-lengths, so she won quite easy.”

Leading New Zealand jockey Matthew Cameron jumped Skywards from barrier 5 to settle fourth in the seven horse field. As the field turned for home, Skywards swung out wide and charged forward to seek the lead.

The lightly raced mare showed an exceptional turn of foot leading up to the winning post, dashing ahead for a two-and-three-quarter-lengths win in front of Ticket Clipper (Ad Valorem) and Aly’s Belt (NZ) (Alamosa).

“We will put her in a Rating 65 next start and keep going from there. She has been racing over 1200m but I would say she will get to a mile,” said Ramsay.

Entering the winners circle at her sixth race start has earned Skywards $6,875 in prizemoney for her owner Sir Peter Vela.

Bred by Sir Peter Vela and Philip Vela, the five-year-old mare is out of New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year, Sarwatch (Jetball), who is a half-sister to Paolino (Housebuster), winner of the Group 2 Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes and the dam of stakes winner Mirandola (O’Reilly), winner of the Listed 2YO Fillies’ Stakes.

Sarwatch has a filly foal at foot by promising sire Rip Van Winkle.