Talented filly Eloping led from start to finish to record another tough victory in the 2014 Blue Sapphire at Caulfield this afternoon.
Eloping continued her winning form with a tough win in the 2014 Blue Sapphire at Caulfield this afternoon.
Eloping jumped from the gates well, but was challenged for the lead in the early stages of race by Tudor and jockey Stephen Baster was unable to position Eloping on the fence.
Craig Williams tried to get Tudor alongside Eloping coming around the final turn, but Strategic colt copped a check, overreacted and lost several lengths, while Eloping was able to kick a couple of lengths clear.
Eloping looked as though she was a sitting duck in the last 200 metres and Sultry Feeling and Supido loomed on the outside, but Eloping was too good for her rivals in the final stages and pulled clear to record her fourth black type win.
Co-trainer Peter Morgan and Craig Widdison were happy with the typically tough performance of Eloping, but are still unsure whether the Choisir filly is good enough to take on the leading three-year-olds in the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at Flemington on Victoria Derby Day.
“She looked like she was a bit gassed there for a little while, but she kicked like she normally does,” Morgan said after the race.
“She is just a great horse isn’t she.
“The Coolmore might be too strong for us, but there is a fillies race in the same carnival and we will just see how she pulls up and make up our mind which way we go.”
Stephen Baster has developed an excellent relationship with Eloping and he was delighted to score another black type win on the classy filly in the Blue Sapphire.
Baster said that he was surprised that Craig Williams on Tudor attempted to take on Eloping in the early stages of the race, but was happy with the way that the three-year-old finished off the race and is confident that she can be competitive at the highest level of racing during the 2014 Melbourne Cup Carnival.
“I thought he might take a sit; I mean my filly led the Golden Slipper and I thought that common sense may prevail,” Baster said after the race.
“He made me work and I can see by the time here behind me that she has run super time, she is a super filly and she has been great for me.
“She went to the lines with her ears pricked and she did it quiet easy.
“Believe it or not every time she has gone around she has improved and she is just a little star.
“I think that the form at all her starts is the best horses around and I think that she would have run a lot better in the Slipper if it wasn’t wet.
“She is a very good filly.”
Eloping was purchased for $120,000 at the 2013 Gold Coast Magic Millions Yearling Sale, but has now accumulated over $1 million in prizemoney for connections.
