Talented filly Pasadena Girl justified the heavy support in betting to record a very strong win in the 2015 Champagne Stakes at Royal Randwick this afternoon.
Pasadena Girl finished over the top of her rivals to win the 2015 Champagne Stakes at Royal Randwick this afternoon. Photo by: Steve Hart
Pasadena Girl was extremely well-backed in the lead-up to the Champagne Stakes and she started the race as a clear favourite, but jockey Hugh Bowman elected to settle the filly towards the tail of the field in the early stages of the race, while The Barrister made sure that the race was run at a solid clip.
The Barrister kicked away from his rivals at the top of the straight and looked as though he would be tough to run down, but Pasadena Girl absolutely ate up the ground when she was asked for an extra effort by Bowman to finish over the top of The Barrister and a gallant Street Rapper in the final stages of the Champagne Stakes.
Bowman took out the Group 1 Sires Produce Stakes (1400m) on Pride Of Dubai at Royal Randwick on April 6 and he said that he was confident the form coming out of the Sires Produce Stakes would prove to be the strongest heading into the Champagne Stakes.
“It was great to pick-up the ride, 54 and a half is about as low as I can go, but I had a week to prepare and she certainly didn’t let me down,” Bowman said.
“I thought that Pride Of Dubai form would standup here and it proved to be good form.
“I hadn’t been on this filly until Tuesday morning and she worked very well with a partner and when I was coming back in I said to Steve Parr ‘what are you on and he said ‘Dissident’, so my confidence grew and she is certainly going to be a force in the spring time.”
Peter Moody has said since Pasadena Girl took out the Listed Talindert Stakes (1100m) on debut that he did not expect to see the Savabeel filly at the races until she was a late three-year-old and he has been astonished at what she has been able to produce as a two-year-old.
Moody was clearly delighted that Pasadena Girl had delivered him a maiden win in the Champagne Stakes, but he is confident she will be even better as a three-year-old and would likely be set for the Group 1 Flight Stakes (1600m), Group 1 Thousand Guineas (1600m) and Group 1 Crown Oaks (2500m) during the 2015 Spring Racing Carnival.
“She is a little gem,” Moody said.
“It was probably only the heavy ground that cost her in the Sires the other day, she ran super and she has backed that up today with a very solid performance.
“When I purchased her I expected her to be going to the races at this time next year and she has surprised us.
“She has an unbelievable attitude towards racing, towards her work and she has buttered up for the fourth time here today.
“It is only upwards and onwards from here for her.
“She is a Flight Stakes, Thousand Guineas type filly and then you look at the Wakeful and the Oaks you would like to think.
“I think she certainly has that scope ahead of her and the progeny of Savabeel have shown that they can do anything.
“She just continues to surprise, so anything is possible.”
Gai Waterhouse-trained Street Rapper produced the best performance of his racing career to date and he was only run down by Pasadena Girl in the final stages of the Champagne Stakes.
