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WAKEFUL STAKES
Can lightning strike twice in the same spot? Sydney-based New Zealander John Sargent is certainly hoping it will for his progressive staying filly Thunder Lady.
The three-year-old, a maiden until she went to post for the group 2 Wakeful Stakes at Flemington on Saturday, followed in the hoofprints of her year older stable companion Kirramosa by taking the black-type event over 2000 metres under Blake Shinn, who was completing a race-to-race double having scored in the first aboard Kermadec for Chris Waller.
While the former was a well-fancied $6 shot, Thunder Lady was an outsider starting at $31, having touched $41 as markets shifted before the off.
Still, horses don't know their odds, and it didn't stop her coming from the tail of the field to run down Godolphin's $2.90 favourite Abduction, with $7.50 chance Fenway three quarters of a length away third, just ahead of Robbie Laing's Golconda ($41), another to have come from the rear to be nearest at the finish.
Kirramosa followed up her Wakeful win four days later by taking out the group 1 Oaks in a driving finish from Zanbagh and Solicit.
Its an assignment that Sargent will now ask the daughter of Mastercraftsman to emulate on Thursday.
And given her profile there is no reason why she won't be a live chance. Improving fillies, particularly those bred to stay a trip.
Mastercraftsman, a grey who won the Irish 2000 Guineas and the group 1 St James Palace Stakes over 1600 metres for the Coolmore operation, did win a group 3 contest over 2000 metres as a three-year-old in 2009. Thunder Lady is out of a mare by Thunder Gulch, who won the Belmont Stakes over 2400 metres as well as the Kentucky Derby, over 2000 metres.
Last year Tommy Berry had the mount on Kirramosa in the Wakeful as the man booked for the Oaks, Nash Rawiller, was suspended.
Rawiller was back on board on the big day.
This time around Berry looked on as Shinn piloted the long shot to victory, but he was one of the first to congratulate Sargent afterwards as he will take the ride on Thursday with Shinn out through a suspension of his own.
Most trainers would prefer the easy life. But not the moustachioed Sargent, who confesses that he prefers the challenges of training fillies and mares to the relative straightforwardness of handling colts and geldings.
"I like fillies, they are harder to train than colts and geldings. You have to spend a lot of time with them. I like a challenge, your colts you can gallop them every day, but your fillies you can't."
That's the approach that he will take with Thunder Lady, a filly he thought might be an Oaks contender when she ran on late in a two-year-old race in New Zealand last autumn.
"She won't do anything, she will have a bit of a swim tomorrow, then a trot and canter the next two days."
Thunder Lady has been beaten in maiden company at Goulbourn, Hawksbury and Newcastle in three of her past four starts, but Sargent said he was optimistic travelling to Flemington.
"She was always a work in progress this filly and I gambled bringing a maiden down. At least Kirramosa last year had won a race. She's showed us all along that if we could settle her she would get the trip. It was a lovely ride today by Blake.
"I have always trained her to get over a trip and get here in her peak condition. I trotted her up the day before and she was flying. As long as you get your horse here in the right condition and as a happy horse, and she was.
"She is more of a staying type than Kirramosa, the other filly had more brilliance. Let's hope it goes as well as last year. She did it pretty strong today, she hit the line well, we'll keep her ticking over."
This, said the trainer, was always going to be a race to top her off for Thursday.
"I said to Blake, 'Ride for Thursday, if you can win today do it, and just go back.' She settled to a good strong pace and he judged it perfectly.
"If you know your horse, she's bred to stay and as long as they are fit and happy you have a go at these races, and it proved right.
"The extra 500 will be right up her alley. I think she was on the go in the birdcage today, that will take the edge off her for Thursday."
The filly is owned by a long-time client of Sargent, Oliver Wong, who bought the horse at the Karaka sales in New Zealand.
John O'Shea, the trainer of Abduction, feels his filly might turn the tables in the Oaks if she is ridden with a little more patience. The daughter of Street Cry was set alight by Kerrin McEvoy and led at the 400 metres only to be run down by the stoutly bred winner.
"I will see how she pulls up. No reason why we wouldn't [go for the Oaks]. We will probably just ride her a bit quieter. Kerrin felt he just got there a bit soon."
Shinn, however, is confident that his replacement, Berry, might be on a Classic winner later this week.
"It was really good, it was a terrific win, she really let down nice, she found the line strongly. She looks as though she will be a great Oaks chance on that run. She really relaxes well, her last 200 was the best part of the race. She's a nice big scopey filly, with a great action, I don't think the extra trip will be a problem."
