More big results with cheap buys for Armour

By Jonny Turner

Trainer Shannon Armour continued her great record with a cheap buy when Nyla scored at Wingatui on Friday.

The three-year-old had produced brilliantly consistent form before being rewarded with a maiden victory in race 4 for driver Blair Orange.

Nyla has big shoes to fill given she was purchased as something of a replacement for Armour’s irreplaceable stable star in Ivana Legacy.

Purchased for just $1000, the seven-year-old transformed her form under Armour’s watch, going on to win 11 races over the past three years.

Ivana Legacy’s journey from once a battling racehorse is set to take another turn as she has gone to stud to be served by rookie sire Captain Crunch.

Many of the same owners that raced Ivana Legacy have come together to race Nyla.

While she wasn’t a $1000 bargain buy, Nyla does look like an outstanding purchase given the fun her owners could continue to have with her.

“I don’t want to say she’s a replacement, because that is a really strong word and Ivy (Ivana Legacy) is very hard to replace. But she is a horse that took over her spot so that her owners would have one to race while Ivy is at stud,” Armour said.

“We bought her off Gavelhouse, she was actually a cheap buy.”

“We were expecting her to go to $8000-$9000, but we got her for about $4000.”

Nyla has loomed up like she was going to win in some of her placings leading into Friday’s win.

It has been a case of the filly not quite knowing what racing is all about just yet.

But at Wingatui, she had her mind right on the job at hand.

“She is such a lovely horse and she is great to work with, but she is just so green.”

“She really doesn’t know what the hell she is doing.”

“Blair has said just keep changing the gear on her, we had full blinds on last week and he said to try pull-downs again.”

“Maybe today she has woken up to what it’s all about.”

“Last week Blair said she was just cruising and she just flopped along and kept going to the line, but before the home straight she was bolting.”

“But today she wanted to go.”

Her newfound ringcraft will be an asset if Nyla is to build a record as impressive as Ivana Legacy’s.

More good results and seeing Ivana Legacy get in foal could provide the owners who share in both horses plenty of thrills over summer.

“It is exciting to see what will happen with Ivy,” Armour said.

“It is not often you can get a $1000 mare and get 11 wins out of her.”