The 2:05.28 recorded by Scarlett Lady is more a reflection of the poor footing for the day at Ellerslie and some sluggish times confirmed that plus the majority of the winners were in the middle of the track or wider. This race has been won since the start of this century by a mare seven times and even more poignantly five of them have been four-year-olds. Scarlett Lady joins Showella (2000), Lashed (2004), Gaze (2007) and The Party Stand (2011) as 4yo mare winners. The best ridden runner tactically in Scarlett Lady won narrowly but well and outstayed the big horse Veyron, which may in fact be a tad suspect at the 2000m the last little bit. Veyron is best when the pace is solid, so he is still in the yet to decide basket regarding at 2000m and that all important extra 40m required for the Cox Plate but he has all the other suitable attributes. The majority of this field were either not serious WFA contenders or even G1 quality gallopers or were tired and several had not experienced a win for quite a while so the taste for a kill was long gone. The top two are serious enough performers and Scarlett Lady in particular is a handicap stayer, as her lack of size will be a factor come the big spring fields where no quarter is given.
Previous Winners
| Date | Horse | Jockey | WT | Trainer | BP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
THE PARTY STAND
(NZ)
4M THORN PARK (AUS) - CREMISI (AUS) ROYAL ACADEMY (USA) |
O P BOSSON | 57.0 | R JAMES | 6 |
|
|
VOSNE ROMANEE
(NZ)
7G ELECTRONIC ZONE (USA) - MADISON AVENUE (NZ) MORCON (GB) |
O P BOSSON | 59.0 | JEFF LYNDS | 8 |
|
|
MACO'REILLY
(NZ)
5G O'REILLY (NZ) - DOUBLE BABU (NZ) CENTAINE (AUS) |
H S TINSLEY | 59.0 | DAVID HAWORTH | 4 |
|
|
SIR SLICK
(NZ)
6G VOLKSRAAD (GB) - OUR MISS OPERA (NZ) PARIS OPERA (AUS) |
B S HERD | 59.0 | GRAEME NICHOLSON & PAUL ALLBON | 7 |
|
|
GAZE
(NZ)
4M CAPE CROSS (IRE) - EYE FULL (NZ) PALATABLE (USA) |
MARK DU PLESSIS | 56.5 | R JAMES | 2 |
|
|
KRISTOV
(NZ)
6G SLAVIC (USA) - SANTA BARBRA (NZ) PIPERHILL (IRE) |
H S TINSLEY | 58.0 | PHILLIP STEVENS | 3 |
|
|
XCELLENT
(NZ)
3G PENTIRE (GB) - EXCELO (NZ) CENTRO (NZ) |
M T COLEMAN | 52.5 | MIKE & PAUL MORONEY | 5 |
|
|
LASHED
(AUS)
4M ENCOSTA DE LAGO (AUS) - TRAFFIC WATCH (AUS) SALIERI (USA) |
O P BOSSON | 55.5 | GRAEME ROGERSON & STEPHEN AUTRIDGE | 7 |
|
|
DEEBEE BELLE
(NZ)
5M BIN AJWAAD (IRE) - DEEBEE LADY (NZ) BRILLIANT INVADER (AUS) |
A CALDER | 56.5 | TONY & PAM GILLIES | 10 |
|
|
ARMSTRONG
(NZ)
5G CLASSIC FAME (USA) - LILTING STAR (AUS) PLANET KINGDOM (AUS) |
B S HERD | 58.0 | JEFF LYNDS | 6 |
|
|
TALL POPPY
(NZ)
6M KAAPSTAD (NZ) - FUN ON THE RUN (NZ) RACING IS FUN (USA) |
D M WALSH | 56.5 | NOEL EALES | 8 |
|
|
SHOWELLA
(NZ)
4M LORD BALLINA (AUS) - SHOW QUEEN (NZ) BALMERINO (NZ) |
E A WILKINSON | 55.5 | C & F RITCHIE | 8 |
