La Tasmania grows at an accelerated pace: she outperformed Tiz Joy in the Clásico Francia

The daughter of Mask, a homebred from Haras La Valkiria, won wire-to-wire and had an unbeatable stakes debut

La Tasmania held Tiz Joy at bay in the final stages of the stakes race / JUAN I. BOZZELLO

Taking risks paid the best dividends for Gonzalo Borda with the filly La Tasmania, who made the best possible entrance into the stakes ranks by winning this Friday in the Clásico Francia (L-1,200m, turf, diagonal), the centerpiece of another forgettable day at San Isidro Racecourse.

The Haras La Valkiria homebred, coming off two allowance victories, did not feel the class hike, handled the 55 1/2 kilos she had to carry, and was able to hold off Tiz Joy (Fortify, 57) in the closing stages, living up to her status as the betting favorite.

Returning to the start, the jockey's decision to position the daughter of Mask early in the lead and kick clear as soon as they reached the home stretch was fundamental to the final result—especially considering the chestnut appeared somewhat green on the turn and, once facing the stands, found it nearly impossible to change leads.

Despite those details typical of a young horse in development, La Tasmania maintained her stride from the 300-meter mark to the wire and managed to edge out by 1/2 length a Tiz Joy who left a favorable impression after several months on the sidelines and returning to the turf—the surface where she had made her mark in the first half of 2025 with two wins, including the Clásico Eliseo Ramírez (G2).

Amiga de Día (Todo Un Amiguito, 53 1/2) completed the trifecta 3 1/2 lengths back in what was also a solid effort. Among the rest, Vieja Amiga Mask (Mask, 59 1/2) struggled coming off the straight and finished fourth; it seems the 1,000-meter distance remains her best option.

There was another high point for La Tasmania: the time of 1m7s59/100 on a track as hard as concrete, as is often the case at this time of the season.

Marcelo Sueldo trains La Tasmania, the second foal out of Donatella Rye (Catcher In the Rye), who had a successful racing career and carries the backing of the maternal family of Doria (Advocate)—the same line that has recently produced high-quality runners such as Natan (Señor Candy), Nievre (Catcher In the Rye), and Pure Doris (Pure Prize), among others.