“It's been a frustrating few months for Prowess and her connections,” shared trainers Roger James and Robert Wellwood.
An abscess had kept the multiple Group One winner away from her initial target, the Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) last month, and a stone bruise had led to her withdrawal from a trial at Taupo.
However, the trainers successfully addressed these setbacks, and Prowess made her long-awaited return in the Group 3 Taranaki Breeders' Stakes (1400m), finishing as the runner-up behind Town Cryer.
“The run was good, and looking back on it probably better than initially thought,” said Wellwood.
Despite facing challenges such as a wide run and a Soft 7 track, jockey Michael McNab managed to guide her through the race. Wellwood noted that Prowess seemed to peak late in the race.
The trainers expressed their satisfaction with her first-up run and expected her to improve further ahead of her next target, the Group 2 Crystal Mile (1600m) at Moonee Valley on October 28.
Wellwood added, “It has been a long time since she has had a run, or a trial, and I think she is really going to come on from the day out.”
In addition to Prowess, Kingsclere Stables secured a runner-up result with Pinion in the Egmont Cup (2100m) at the same meeting.
Wellwood praised Pinion, mentioning that he performed well despite not favouring wet ground.
Pinion's future plans include a potential run before heading to Riccarton for the Metropolitan (Listed, 2600m) and then the New Zealand Cup (Group 3, 3200m).
Looking ahead to upcoming races, the Cambridge barn will send three-year-old fillies Sonnet and Sudbina to Taupo on Wednesday.
“Both have drawn nicely enough and they had very good runs at Matamata first-up.”
He noted that while they are young fillies with potential for improvement, they should perform reasonably well if they build upon their first-up runs.