PASSIONATELY YOURS TAKES HOME $50 000 BONUS

When Passionately Yours quickly made up ground from the rear of the field and swept past all of her rivals in the straight to score a quality victory in the Bracelet Handicap at Ballina on Tuesday, it provided a very special moment for the connections of the filly.

Passionately Yours was one of two runners in the field eligible for a $50 000 bonus payout, courtesy of the Brisbane Bloodstock sales company who manages a bonus scheme which offers $1 million worth of cash incentives to its sales graduates spread over 45 designated races during the season.

Under this scheme, The Ballina Bracelet offered a $50 000 bonus and it was well earned and gratefully accepted by the connections of the Darryl Gollan trained filly who powered home in convincing fashion under a superb ride from Scott Richardson.

The base stake for the race handed the winner $10 000. The Brisbane Bloodstock bonus increased the value of the win by $50 000. There was, of course, a Bracelet to go with the winners’ cheque and, to top it all, Passionately Yours earned a free service to the stallion Top Marc, who stands at Racetree for a fee of $3,300.

Not a bad day’s work for the winning connections, particularly as the meeting had been under threat due to adverse weather conditions which saw it postponed from Friday to Tuesday.

“Darryl Golan is a great supporter of our sales,” said Pam O’Neil of Brisbane Bloodstock, “so we are very happy that he has been successful.

"Having somebody win the bonus is a great promotion for our company and highlights what a great incentive the bonus scheme is for our buyers.”

This is not the first time Passionately Yours has benefitted from this bonus scheme. She also picked up a bonus amount of $10 000 in January.

“This is the first $50 000 bonus to be claimed,” confirmed O’Neill.

“Generally we would give away maybe six or seven $10 000 bonus’s a season, but this season has obviously been badly impacted on by EI, so Passionately Yours is currently the only bonus winner in 2008.”

Of the $50 000 payout, $25 000 goes to the winning owner, $12 500 goes to the winning trainer and $12 500 is for the vendor.

The Ballina Bracelet has a proud history having previously been won by the likes of quality performers such a Red Rancher, Novajinsky (who was also trained by Darryl Gollan) and Winger Charger, all of whom went on to win high profile feature events.