Multiple Group 1 winning mare Verry Elleegant is back in favour for the major Spring Carnival races when she led home a Chris Waller trifecta in winning the Group 1 $500,000 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington today.

Verry Elleegant, above, was the winner of the Turnbull Stakes at Flemington. Photo by Steve Hart.

Verry Elleegant, above, was the winner of the Turnbull Stakes at Flemington. Photo by Steve Hart.

Verry Elleegant was sent out as the $5 favourite in a wide betting race and chalked up Group 1 win number 5 when she beat the Waller trained stablemates Toffee Tongue ($71) and Finche ($5.50).

Verry Elleegant is now the $8 equal favourite with Anthony Van Dyck at Ladbrokes.com.au for the Group 1 $5m Stella Artois Caulfield Cup (2400m) at Caulfield on October 17.

The high quality mare is marked at $12 on the third line of betting for the Group 1 $5m Ladbrokes Cox Plate (2040m) at The Valley on October 24 and is a $17 chance for the Group 1 $8m Lexus Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on the first Tuesday in November.

Verry Elleegant kicked off her Spring Carnival campaign with a first up win in the Group 1 $500,000 Winx Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on August 22 but then missed a place when fourth in the Group 1 $500,000 Fujitsu George Main Stakes (1600m) at Randwick four weeks later.

The mare was back on her game today and even though her best form has been on rain affected ground, the hard surface at Flemington didn’t worry her today.

Winning jockey Mark Zahra settled Verry Elleegant in the middle of the field and brought her to the outside in the straight to make her run.

The mare was strong at the finish and was able to hold out her stablemates in the drive to the line.

Waller’s Melbourne representative Jo Taylor admitted that the hard Flemington surface wasn’t ideal for Verry Elleegant but she was able to handle it okay on the day with a nice ride from Zahra.

“Mark certainly gave her every chance today,” Taylor said.

“She wasn’t disgraced in her last start but she has shown she is also better outside of horses, given some room and just allowed to find her feet before she shows her best side at the line.”

“It (the hard track) is certainly something that you take into consideration but it is what it is, you take to it on the day and you ride them accordingly and she showed today that it didn’t concern her.”

About The Author

Mark Mazzaglia

Mark is a passionate journalist with a life-time involvement in the racing industry. He spent many years as an analyst and form expert at the Courier Mail and also has hands-on experience working with some of Queensland’s top trainers.