Ciaron Maher is desperate to win a Group 1 with talented filly Petits Filous and he believes that the 2016 edition of The Galaxy could be the right race for the three-year-old.
Petits Filous will have the chance to record a maiden Group 1 victory during her autumn campaign. Photo by: Ultimate Racing Photos
Petits Filous made her racing debut in the Telstra Phoneworlds Handicap (1000m) at Moonee Valley on July 15 and she absolutely smashed the clock to record a dominant six lengths win before she proved that win was no fluke with another comfortable victory in the United Refrigeration Handicap (1000m) at Moonee Valley on August 1.
The Street Boss filly made her black-type racing debut with a strong win in the Group 3 Quezette Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield on August 15 and she had no trouble handling the famous Flemington straight when she made it four wins on the trot with a victory in the Listed Cap D’Antibes Stakes (1100m) at Flemington on September 12.
Maher elected to throw Petits Filous in the deep end for the Group 1 Moir Stakes (1000m) at Moonee Valley on October 2 and he started the race as a dominant favourite, but she was outpaced by Buffering in the early stages of the race and she faded late to finish a disappointing tenth.
The in-form trainer is confident that Petits Filous has the ability to succeed at the highest level of racing and he told Racing.com that both the Group 1 The Galaxy (1100m) at Rosehill Gardens during the 2016 Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival or the Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m) in Adelaide could both be good options for the three-year-old.
“She has always shown really good ability and she is one of the benchmark three-year-old filly sprinters,” Maher said.
“The aim is to try and get her a Group 1 win and on the back of that we can map a plan.
“There is races like The Galaxy – she does like that sting out of the ground – and then maybe the Swettenham in Adelaide.”
Three-year-olds have an excellent record in The Galaxy, but no filly has won the race since La Baraka in 1998, while Lost Art (1986), Wicked Smile (1987), With Me (1991), Apple Danish (1997), French Bid (2004), Alinghi (2005), Universal Queen (2007) and Rostova (2010) all won the Robert Sangster Stakes as a three-year-old.
Maher has a strong team of horses heading towards the Autumn Carnival and the likes of Srikandi, Set Square and Jameka will all be given the chance to win another Group 1 event.
