Exceed and Excel filly Mia Diva turned in an eye-catching performance to get off the mark with victory at Catterick on Monday evening.
The Phoenix Thoroughbreds owned runner was having her second start when she broke from stall three in the five-furlong Novice event and while still showing some signs of inexperience ran out a winner by just over a length. Hampered by a slow surface on her debut at Newcastle the John Quinn trained filly looked much more at home on the good to firm ground as she and jockey Jason Hart broke well before sitting just behind a ferocious pace. Just niggled to keep her balanced after the opening furlong, she soon settled into a nice rhythm, and as the field reached the final two furlongs, it became apparent she was travelling like the winner. Hart pushed the button soon after and she picked up well to win by just over a length.
“She’s a filly we’ve always liked,” explained a delighted John Quinn. “We ran her in a pretty decent race at Newcastle, and I felt she ran ok but felt she could do better. When she came back, she wasn’t right, and it took us a while to get her right. In the last three or four week’s we felt she was blooming and we thought she’d go well. She’s not devoid of speed, and she has a nice pedigree, so I’m delighted to get the ‘one’ next to her name.”
Costing £70,000 at the Goffs Premier Yearling Sale in 2018 Mia Diva is a full sister to the Group Three and Listed juvenile winner Queen Of Bermuda so, with possibly more improvement to come that price tag might end up representing shrewd business for her Dubai based owners.