Coolmore Stud Stakes An Option For Crockett Stakes Winner Lake Geneva

Lake Geneva could head to the 2015 Coolmore Stud Stakes next weekend after she returned to winning form with a brave performance in the 2015 Crockett Stakes at Moonee Valley this afternoon.

Lake Geneva was one of the most consistent two-year-olds in the country during the autumn and she finished in the placings in both the Blue Diamond Stakes and the Golden Slipper Stakes, but she made a very slow start to her 2015 Spring Racing Carnival and she produced lacklustre efforts in the Group 2 Silver Shadow Stakes (1200m), Group 2 Furious Stakes (1200m) and Group 2 Tea Rose Stakes (1400m).

The daughter of Fastnet Rock did not have a trouble free run in the Crockett Stakes, but she was still able to show an impressive turn-of-foot when asked for an extra effort by jockey James Winks and she held-off a fast-finishing Valley Sweetheart and Serene Majesty to record just her second race win.

Winks admitted after the race that Lake Geneva was caught wide in the early stages of the Crockett Stakes, but he said that he was always happy with the way that the three-year-old was travelling.

“I was three wide, but I had cover and she actually came out of the straight really nice,” Winks said.

“She was in a lovely rhythm and sometimes three deep is a bit of myth, as long as they are happy that is the main thing.”

Lake Geneva is one of the well-bred fillies in the country and she was purchased for $1 million as a yearling, but she is now worth much more than that following her maiden win at Stakes level in the Crockett Stakes.

Co-trainer Wayne Hawkes said that he was absolutely delighted that Lake Geneva had been able to add a black-type victory to her racing resume and he hinted that she might be given the chance to take on the best three-year-olds sprinters in the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at Flemington on Victoria Derby Day.

“She certainly didn’t have the winners run and that is obviously why she got a bit tired towards the end, but it was a great effort, she worked hard and did everything right,” Hawkes said.

“She ran third in a Blue Diamond, third in the Golden Slipper and was only a Hawkesbury winner, but now she is a very, very valuable Stakes winner.

“She looked fantastic in the mounting enclosure and her work had been outstanding, so on her work and how she looked we thought that she would run well, but she was yet to put it all together her first couple of runs back.

“She has had a little bit of a freshen-up and winners are grinners.

“We will see how she pulls up, but they do a race called the Coolmore next Saturday.”

Valley Sweetheart absolutely savaged the line and would have won the race if she had not been checked at the top of the straight, while Miss Gidget was badly checked on the turn and was lucky to remain on her feet.

You can score the best odds on Cox Plate Day with Ladbrokes, who are offering Best Tote or Starting Price +20% for every single race at Moonee Valley this afternoon.

About The Author

Thomas Hackett

Thomas is a passionate and opinionated racing journalist and punter who has been obsessed with horse racing since he backed Saintly to win the 1996 Melbourne Cup. An international racing enthusiast, he has his finger on the pulse of racing news not just from Australia but all around the world.