Well bred filly Upon This Rock proved herself a bright prospect for the future with a stirring win in the Freeway Hotel Artarmon 2YO Handicap (1100m) at Canterbury this afternoon.

Despite covering plenty of extra ground and having the toughest run in the race, Upon This Rock had the audacity to keep coming in the straight and win strongly.

Trainer Gai Waterhouse and jockey Nash Rawiller both couldn’t help but be impressed with the Queensland Carnival bound youngster.

“She’s a really good filly in the making,” Waterhouse said. “And we’ll probably take her to Queensland.”

“She was really lovely,” she added. “A lovely type of filly.”

“There was lots of speed in the race. I think it will rate very highly,” Waterhouse commented.

Rawiller was left shaking his head after the incredible performance of the filly who was at the races for just the second time.

“It was one of the most terrific efforts I’ve seen for some time,” Rawiller stated. “Dropping back from 1250 the other day to 1100 today was always going to be the concern.”

“She was beaten for speed and got bumped around a fair bit in the run and got unbalanced. But she attacked the line.”

“The effort was outstanding – keep with her – she’s going to be better at 1400,” he summed up.

Purchased by James Bester for $225,000 from the draft of Willow Park Stud at last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale is raced by the Macquarie Group’s Executive Director Laurie Macri.

Upon This Rock is a daughter of Coolmore Stud’s exciting second season sire Fastnet Rock and is from the well related and grand producing mare Joleur.

A minor race winner over 1400 metres, Joleur is a sister to Mica’s Pride (the dam of Silently) and Money Begets Money but she is best known as the dam of four winners from four runners and three stakes gallopers.

Joleur’s proven stakes performers to date are Sydney stakes winners Gaze On and Bhutane Dane and the stakes race runner-up Rogue Warrior.