Goodwood Stud Bred and sold filly  If I Can I Can adopted her usual front-running tactics to claim a black type success in the Listed NZB Warstep Stakes at Riccarton this afternoon.

Rider Robert Hannam let the filly make all the play out in front and fought on stoutly in the run home to win narrowly, although the result was never in danger.

“She tends to roll much better in front and she’s happy doing that so why bother to change anything?” Hannam said.

“She jumps and she puts herself right there and the only hiccup we had was at Hastings where we tried to ride her back and she’s not a sit and get home sort of horse.

“She handled the ground as good as anything else and I still had a bit more left at the finish.”

If I Can I Can, who had dead-heated for third last time out in the Listed NZB Air Freight Stakes, handled the step up to 2000 metres with ease and that came as no surprise to Hannam.

“She’s bred to go over a bit of ground on the dam’s side and she travelled sweetly all the way,” he said.

The daughter of Iffraaj is out of the winning Zabeel mare Recollection, whose sister Etoile Du Nord won five races up to 2400 metres, including the Listed Marton Cup.

If I Can I Can was purchased by trainer Lisa Latta out of Goodwood’s 2011 Select Sale draft to Karaka for $60,000.