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Angelic Light Simply Too Classy For World’s Highest Rated Sprinter

6th Sep 2014

Five-year-old mare Angelic Light (Holy Roman Emperor x Flashed) did what many felt was impossible, upstaging the World’s Highest Rated Sprinter Lankan Rupee in the Group 2 McEwen Stakes over 1000m at Moonee Valley.

A listed-winning, Group 1 placegetter prior to today’s race, the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale graduate settled in third, with Eloping and Lankan Rupee taking the lead. When the field reached the home turn, jockey Ryan Maloney pulled his mare off their heels and asked her for the supreme effort.

Just as Lankan Rupee looked as if he would take the win, Angelic Light dug deep to record a short head victory over the World’s Highest Rated Sprinter, a title previously Inglis graduates Black Caviar and Sacred Kingdom.

Bred and consigned through the draft of Northern Lodge Stud, Angelic Light’s trainer Robbie Griffith was clearly elated with the victory of his $30,000 yearling purchase.

"You can’t expect to beat the best sprinter in the world, so to see her win is very exciting.

"She had a tendon strain and the owners had to decide whether to go to stud or race on, so they’ve been very patient and it’s been a real team effort to get her back.”

Angelic Light wasn’t the only Inglis graduate to salute the judge on Saturday, with Redoute’s Choice colt Panzer Division going one better than his photo finish second to stablemate and fellow Inglis Easter graduate Scissor Kick in the Group 3 Up And Coming Stakes two weeks back, producing an outstanding effort to claim the Group 3 Ming Dynasty Quality Handicap at Randwick.

Having only his third career start, three-year-old colt Panzer Division (Redoute’s Choice x Desert Fight), jumped away well from his outside barrier and headed to the lead where he was able to control the race throughout.

Quickening before the home turn, jockey Tye Angland kept his colt away from the fence as he started to pull away from the rest of the field, going on to claim the Group 3 contest by a length-and-a-quarter from Shooting To Win, with fellow Easter graduate Lady Sharapova (Fastnet Rock x Perfect Persuasion), the lone filly in the race, working home well for third.

Bred by Brett and Judy Hudson, Panzer Division was consigned through the draft of Lustre Lodge at the 2013 Australia Inglis Easter Yearling Sale where he was purchased by trainer Paul Messara. In fact Messara secured two Redoute’s Choice colts at that year’s sale; Panzer Division and Scissor Kick, both now Group Three winners.

With his place in the Group 1 Golden Rose field no assured, trainer Paul Messara was still unsure as to where his stakes-winning colt would head next.

“The bait is there, we have to let the dust settle, and see what the weather does as well obviously he got through it today.

“The form has held up here, so we just have to let the dust settle.”

“He was still really green last start and I knew he would take plenty of improvement out of the run. He was coming off a bit of a break there as he had to go back and trial again between races.”

“He has always shown us plenty, now with three runs behind him he is going to be a very nice horse going forward.”

The final race at Moonee Valley went the way of Atlante (Fastnet Rock x Readyforcatherine), a graduate of Reavill Farm draft from the 2012 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale when being knocked down to Lyndhurst Farm for $170,000.

A winner of the Group 1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas during his three-year-old season, connections have transferred the four-year-old to the Australian stable of Hawkes Racing.