Amicus flew down the outside in the final stages of the race to steal victory in a thrilling 2015 Let’s Elope Stakes at Flemington this afternoon.
Vezalay hit the front at the 150 metre mark and she looked as though she would fight out the finish with Cosmic Endeavour, but she tired in the final stages of the race and Amicus came from nowhere to record her second straight win after she took out the Group 3 Toy Show Quality (1300m) in Sydney last start.
Amicus flies down the outside to win the 2015 Group 2 Let’s Elope Stakes. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos
Jockey Craig Newitt was having his first race wide on Amicus in the Let’s Elope Stakes and he believes that the daughter of Fastnet Rock will continue to improve as she gets further into her 2015 Spring Racing Carnival campaign.
“She is a good mare,” Newitt said.
“She was obviously a Group 1 winner as a three-year-old and she has come back really good.
“Today it was always going to be a tough assignment drawn wide, but we just rode her quite and she had a good draw into the race.
“I just let her travel few her gears and through the line she was really strong.
“She is a winner.”
Chris Waller’s stable foreperson in Melbourne Justine Hales said that she could not believe the physical of condition of Amicus when she arrived in Melbourne earlier in the week and she was delighted that the four-year-old was able to get the job done in the Let’s Elope Stakes.
Hales said that she does not know exactly what Waller has planned for Amicus this preparation, but she believes that she could be set for a race like the Group 1 Myer Classic (1600m) at Flemington on Victoria Derby Day.
“She has come down and we were amazed with how much she has filled out this season from when we saw her last year,” Hales said.
“She is just an amazing big mare and she has a great nature.
“Her first win back she did it really easy and it was a step-up in grade today against these mares, but she has class and she showed it.
“I think they will aim her towards a Group 1 like the Myer.”
Cosmic Endeavour and Vezalay were both far from disgraced in the Let’s Elope Stakes, while May’s Dream and Precious Gem both hit the line strongly in eye-catching performances.
Noble Protector was well-backed in the lead-up to the Let’s Elope Stakes, but she was never able to find clear running and she finished in the second half of the field.
