WEBEJAMIN FINALLY GETS OVERDUE BREAKTHROUGH

THURSDAY: March 20, 2025: STEVE O’Halloran paid his mare Webejamin a nice tribute after she shed her maiden status at Newcastle today.

After seven minor placings from her previous 10 starts, a breakthrough was indeed overdue – and it came in the Midway Class 1/Maiden Plate (1850m).

Ridden by Mitchell Bell, homebred Webejamin ($3.60) won a three-way battle between the trio of fancied runners.

She finished strongly to defeat Koning ($3.10) and $2.90 favorite Bluebird Bay.

“Webejamin has a great constitution,” the Hawkesbury trainer said en route home.

“She is probably the only horse I have trained who you wouldn’t know had had a race.

“That was her sixth run this preparation, and she is handling everything so well.

“Provided she continues to do well, we’ll look for another suitable race, otherwise she can have a break.

“Webejamin is very versatile. She was just beaten first-up over 1200m at Canberra last December, and here she is now winning at 1850m.

“Going on the way she finished today when she got the gap in the straight, I feel she will get 2000m.”

O’Halloran was especially pleased to end Webejamin’s run of minor placings for her breeders and owners Gary and Kay Stevenson.

“Gary and Kay live near Orange and have a few mares,” he said.

“They bred Webejamin by mating Caraveli with Starspangledbanner.

“Webejamin needed time and didn’t race as a two-year-old.

“In fact she didn’t begin racing until well into her three-year-old season and was runner-up at her first two starts at Goulburn and Hawkesbury in May and June last year.

“Webejamin has been desperately unlucky a few times, and it was terrific to finally get that first win on the board.”

The four-year-old mare was O’Halloran’s third win of the season (and his career 25th) and the 114th for the Hawkesbury training base since August 1.

Bell has been O’Halloran’s most successful jockey, having ridden six winners for him.

. HOOFNOTE: Webejamin’s dam, the raced Viscount mare Caraveli, died in October last year.

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