A rails hugging ride from Michael Walker saw Pure Elation take out the 2018 Group 2 $200,000 Darley Furious Stakes (1200m) at Randwick today.
Pure Elation,above, secured a rails run to win the 2018 Furious Stakes at Randwick. Photo by Steve Hart.
Walker had Pure Elation camped right behind the leaders coming to the home turn and Walker pushed up behind the leader on top of the rise hoping to sneak up along the fence.
The move proved to be the right on and Pure Elation ($5.50) exploded through to record a one length win over the Chris Waller trained Fiesta ($5.50) who came from near last to slice in between runners.
Third placegetter Pretty In Pink ($8) also came from well back in the field while the $4.80 favourite Oohood battled away in the straight for fourth.
Co-trainer Paul Snowden said that Pure Elation had done a tremendous job in the Autumn in winning the Group 2 $600,000 Percy Sykes Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on day two of The Championships and he was excited to see her win today the way she did.
“It was just the end of a really arduous campaign with her last time,” Paul Snowden said.
“To see the things that went wrong in Melbourne on a Blue Diamond preparation. To come back off the back of that and exceed and go beyond what we asked of her, it doesn’t always work out like that.”
“She’s had a really good break and she’s come back in really great order. She’s a filly that is going to improve this time through.”
“Knowing where we’ve got her and that there’s a little bit left in the tank with a long spring ahead of her it’s just good to see her get back in this way like she has – for her to hit the line like she did.”
Paul Sowden, who trains in partnership with his father Peter, said that Pure Elations’s next run in the Group 2 $200,000 Darley Tea Rose Stakes (1400m) at Randwick in a fortnight will determine if the filly steps up in distance or sticks to the sprint races.
“Our next run is probably going to determine that. She might be a bit too brilliant to stretch out over a little bit of ground but the next run will determine the path we take and we can map out a future from there,” Paul Snowden said.
“We’ll stay in the Princess Series and run in the Tea Rose.”
