Thyme For Roses produced the best performance of her racing career to date to record an impressive victory in the 2016 Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes at Flemington this afternoon.
Thyme For Roses was dominant in the Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes at Flemington this afternoon. Photo by: Ultimate Racing Photos
Jockey Ben Melham elected to settle Thyme For Roses right up on the speed in the early stages of the Thoroughbred Breeders Plate and he held her up until the 400 metre mark before she put away her rivals extremely quickly when she was asked for an extra effort.
Melham said after the race that he thought he may have got too quickly on Thyme For Roses in the Listed Festival Of Racing (1000m) at Flemington last Saturday, but he believes that the daughter of Redoute’s Choice too plenty of benefit out of the race and relish the step-up to 1200 metres in the Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes.
“She is a Sydney galloper, so I was keen to be close to the outside rail,” Melham said.
“I don’t know if there is much in this track today, but there is a little bit of juice in it, which really suited her as well.
“I was able to dictate the race from out where we were.
“I thought we went a bit quick the other day, so I just rated her a little bit slower today, which enabled her to give a really good turn-of-foot to the line.
“She has had the two runs in this time, she is hard fit and she has the benefit of the run up the straight.”
Gai Waterhouse’s Racing Manager Adrian Bott was delighted to see Thyme For Roses return to winning form in the Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes and he confirmed that she would return to Sydney for more Group races during the 2016 Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival.
“She has shown a lot of ability right from the outset and she has done it well all the way through,” Bott said.
“It was very pleasing to see her top that off with a result like today.
“We had the initial intentions of running her in the Blue Diamond, but unfortunately she struggled the first time around the Caulfield track and didn’t have any luck there.
“You saw last week she dropped back to the 1000 there and it was very game effort down the straight for the first time.
“She was on the quick back-up here and she was just too strong form them today.
“We will see how she comes through the race today and most likely she will be on a float back to Sydney.”
Concealer was extremely well-backed in the lead-up to the Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes, but she failed to respond when she was asked for an effort and finished a disappointing fifth.
