Daniel Gibbons and his family are currently holidaying in Bali.
But they were on ‘their own special island’ when Kelsey Bale put the ‘sunlight on the sand’ in the $78,795 Group 2 Sportsbet Ballarat Cup (450m) on Friday night.
Following a 35-minute delay to race start time due to inclement weather, Kelsey Bale – in the lyrics of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific – revealed “there’s nothin’ like a dame” with a ‘nothing in the world’ victory in the $50,000 to-the-winner event.
Kelsey Bale was last approaching the home turn, but her rivals watched her ‘soft and wavy frame’ flash past them in 25.14sec of power-laden sprinting excellence.
Kelsey Bale ($7.20) defeated the ‘King of Healesville’ Unleash Collinda ($4.80) by 0.7L, with her litter brother – Quinlan Bale ($6.20) – a further 0.6L away third.
It was her 20th win (with 16 seconds and seven thirds) from 60 starts and her stakes catapulted to $292,140. It was her third win from four starts over 450m at Ballarat.