The first three fillies home in both the sixth and seventh legs of NZB Filly of the Year Series will clash once again in Thursday's eighth leg, the $70,000 Group 3 Little Avondale Lowland Stakes (2100m) at Hastings.
In the Group 3 Desert Gold Stakes (1600m) at Trentham in late January, Nicoletta (NZ) (Savabeel) finished first with Devise (NZ) (Darci Brahma) second and Bonneval (NZ) (Makfi) third.
Two weeks later there was a rematch in the Group 2 Sir Tristram Fillies' Classic (2000m) at Te Rapa, and this time Bonneval came out on top with Nicoletta second and Devise third.
Thursday is round three of the battle, with the trio finishing off their preparations for the $300,000 Group 1 Wellfield New Zealand Oaks (2400m) at Trentham on March 18 and also vying for valuable Filly of the Year Series points.
The points table is still topped by multiple stakes winner Volpe Veloce (Foxwedge) with 14 points and the Group 1 winner La Diosa (NZ) (So You Think) with 12, but neither are likely to play any further part in the series. Volpe Veloce is in the spelling paddock and La Diosa is in Sydney, where she scored a first-up win in last weekend's Group 2 Surround Stakes (1400m).
Stablemates Nicoletta and Bonneval sit in third and fourth spot with 10 and 9.5 points respectively, with Devise on five.
Other runners in Thursday's race with points to their name are Storytime (NZ) (Savabeel) with 5.5, Rip Into Ghia (NZ) (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle) with 3 and Grand Soleil (NZ) (Savabeel) with 2.
Thursday's race carries 6 points for first, 3 for second and 1.5 for third.
The Series will develop further when a different group of fillies contests the $70,000 Group 3 McKee Family Sunline Vase (2100m) at Ellerslie on the 4th of March.
NZB Release
