Gai Waterhouse had to wait until the last day of The Championship to get a carnival Group 1 and it was the filly English (Aus) (Encosta de Lago {Aus}) that provided such a result in the G1 Schweppes All Ages S. A G1 Golden Slipper runner-up during her juvenile season, the filly had run with great credit when third to Chautauqua (Aus) (Encosta De Lago {Aus}) in the G1 Darley TJ Smith S. two weeks ago and she made no mistake on this occasion hitting the front under Sam Clipperton over a furlong from home and fending off the late thrust of Black Heart Bart (Aus) (Blackfriars {Aus}) to win by a neck. Kermadec (NZ) (Teofilo {Ire}) who looked a major threat rounding the home turn finished a further three parts of a length back in third. It made for a memorable second top level Championship win this year for Sam Clipperton who commented, “That's amazing, to be able to ride my first Group 1 winner for Ron [Quinton] at the official start of the carnival and then my second one on the last day of the carnival, it's pretty special. To do it for Gai Waterhouse – it's a privilege to do it for her. And the owners [Newhaven Park] have been great supporters of mine over the years, it's an absolute privilege.” Despite a slow early pace the race panned out almost perfectly for Clipperton who added, “I had a great run, it was a tricky little race on paper and as it turns out I was just able to follow what I thought was the biggest danger in the race in Press Statement, Hughie [Bowman] gave me a lovely drag up into the race. I got exposed a bit early, I was a bit concerned at the end of the 1400m but she's just tough.”
SCHWEPPES ALL AGED STAKES-G1, A$605,000 (US$467,256/£328,868/€414,071), ATC, 4-16, wfa, 1400mT, 1:22.90, st.
1–ENGLISH (Aus), 54.5, f, 3, by Encosta De Lago (Aus)
1st Dam: Court (Aus) (MGSW-Aus $379,750), by Anabaa
2nd Dam: Splish (Aus), by Zeditave (Aus)
3rd Dam: La Papaya, by Alleged
O-Newhaven Park (Mgr: Rj, So, Jw & Rc Kelly, Ga Walker & Ns Agostini); B-Newhaven Park Stud; T-Ms G Waterhouse; J-S
Clipperton; A$365,000. Lifetime Record: 8-4-1-1, A$1,727,950.
Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Black Heart Bart (Aus), 59.0, g, 5, Blackfriars (Aus)–Sister Theresa (Aus), by At Talaq.
O-K B Renner, C R Delacy, A Psaltis, I McCarthy & Mrs D A Richardson; B-Durham Lodge Thoroughbred Stud WA; T-D K Weir; J-K Mc Evoy; A$120,000.
3–Kermadec (NZ), 59.0, h , 4, Teofilo (Ire) –Hy Fuji (Aus), by Fuji Kiseki (Jpn). (NZ$260,000 Ylg 2013 NZB National Yearling Sale)
O-N Morgan; B-Llanhennock Trust, Waikato, NZ; T-C J Waller; J-J B McDonald; A$60,000.
Margins: 0.2, 0.7, 2.4.
Also Ran: Rebel Dane (Aus), Press Statement (Aus), Malaguerra, Perignon (Aus), Goldstream (Ity). Click for the Racing Post result or the free equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO.
The Chris Waller-trained Press Statement (Aus) (Hinchinbrook {Aus}) started the race favourite in the small field of eight, with his stablemate Kermadec and last start Group 3 winner Malaguerra (Aus) (Magnus {Aus}) also popular in the market. As a line of four headed up the running, eventually the 3-year-old filly Perignon (Aus) took up the lead, and tried to slow up the tempo, while the Italian import Goldstream (Ity) (Martino Alonso {Ire}) settled in second position at his first Australian start. Press Statement was forced to race wide in third while English was racing slightly wide with only two behind her. Before the home turn, James McDonald aboard Kermadec who was at the tail of the field started to make his move and on the point of the turn he was the widest, while English was one inside him. As English hit the lead and brushed aside the challenge of Kermadec it was left to Black Heart Bart to lay down the final challenge but ultimately he came up short as the filly claimed her first Group 1 victory in a time of 1.22.90.
The favourite Press Statement finished a tame fifth with jockey Hugh Bowman unable to offer up any excuse, “We expected a little bit more from him I must admit, he felt fantastic mid-race but he just didn't finish off like the horse we know he is.” Gai Waterhouse was very sweet on English before the TJ Smith and now that the filly has proved her class the trainer is keen to send her to Queensland for the lucrative Brisbane winter carnival where further Group 1 races are on the agenda. “She has a winter ahead of her and will go to Brisbane for races like the Doomben 10,000 and Stradbroke, she is in form and put the older horses to bed today,” stated Waterhouse.
“She is a really good filly and I knew she would run 1400m with her eyes shut because her work had changed the last little bit and had become seasoned, that explosiveness she had as a 2-year-old has been transferred itself into a filly that will run a mile easily,” added the legendary trainer. Victory also represented the 25th Group 1 winner for her now retired Coolmore-based sire Encosta De Lago (Aus) (Fairy King).
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