Avery Anna showed she has a bright future in registering a debut win at Geelong.
The Ladbrokes Popular SRM Maiden Plate (1125) on Wednesday was fought out by three debutants in a thrilling finish.
The Leon and Troy Corstens and Will Larkin-trained filly was the least popular of the trio, easing from an opening quote of $3.80 out to $5.
In contrast, runner-up Voltrix was sent out the $2.30 favourite after early support saw her open $2.15 on course while the big move came for Big Lap who officially opened $4 and came into $3.10 after as much as $17 had been bet the previous day.
It was Avery Anna, under Craig Williams, that dug deepest at the finish to score by a half-head from Voltrix with Big Lap, the same margin away third.
Larkin said the stable had expected a forward showing from Avery Anna while conceding the filly would be improved by the experience.
Geelong Race 1 | Avery Anna
Debut delight 🔥 The Autumn Sun filly gets the job done first-up at the races for Craig Williams and Malua Racing.
📺 Ch. 78/68, Foxtel 529, Kayo or via our app
REPLAYS: https://t.co/HEhdpozFmy pic.twitter.com/oksTE9ea27— Racing.com (@Racing) September 23, 2026
“She’s a filly that I think has a lot of ability, but she is still not all there quite yet,” Larkin told racing.com.
“She was over-racing at times in the mid-stages. She’s got a good turn of foot but was floating around late.
“I thought she was going to get headed at the 100 (metres) and run a nice third, but she stuck on and wanted to be there.
“It’s good signs for a horse going forward and we did say to the owners this morning that she was still six months away from being at her best as she’s got quite a bit of maturity still to come.”
Williams concurred with Larkin’s post-race assessment saying Avery Anna had a good motor, but lacked the racing smarts on debut, despite the strong, but narrow, win.
“The stable was very confident with her today and she still has all her future in front of her when she develops a bit more and she will learn a lot from this race experience,” Williams said.
“Most importantly, she has a good motor.”
