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Fairytale filly headlines memorable day

18th Feb 2017

She Will Reign’s stranglehold on the Golden Slipper firmed, Ducimus ‘did an All Too Hard’ while Hey Doc, Man From Uncle, Kenedna and In Her Time all got in on the action too.

It was another memorable day for Inglis graduates in the feature races today, winning all five 2YO and 3YO Stakes races in NSW and Victoria.

The headline act was again the super Sydney filly She Will Reign.

She missed the start, had to come from the tail of the field and had her owners’ hearts in their mouths, but in the end none of it mattered.

The $20,000 Inglis Classic bargain buy made it three wins from as many starts when claiming the Group 2 Silver Slipper Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill today.

She Will Reign (Manhattan Rain x Courgette), purchased by Darby Racing and trained by Gary Portelli, is now a dominant $3 favourite for the $3.5million Group 1 Golden Slipper at Rosehill on March 18.

Jilly Henderson raised She Will Reign at Middlebrook Station before the fairytale filly was offered at the 2016 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale in the Ambergate Farm draft.

Like the punters who took the $1.30 on offer about the hot-pot, Scott Darby of Darby Racing didn’t know what to think when the filly missed the start for the first time in her career and was forced to settle last.

“It was heart-in-mouth stuff, but she’s a star, an absolute superstar and she proved that again today,’’ a proud Darby said.

“It was too wet for her in the Inglis Nursery, too far for her today, the potters can find a reason to take her on but she’s our fairytale filly and bring on the Golden Slipper!’’

She Will Reign’s Shamus Award half-sister is being offered by Yarraman Park Stud at the Australian Easter Yearling Sale on April 4-6 as Lot 86.

To view the Easter catalogue, CLICK HERE.

She Will Reign wasn’t the only Inglis graduate to win a feature 2YO race today, with Ducimus claiming the Listed Talindert Stakes at Flemington.

A stunning colt, Ducimus announced himself as ‘the real deal’ with the dogged win, earning himself a Stakes success at just his second career start.

Ducimus (Snitzel x Beauty World) was the sale-topper at last year’s Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale, where Mr Little Hung paid $700,000 for the colt from the Blue Gum Farm draft.

This year’s Premier Sale starts Sunday week (February 26) and runs for four days.

To view the Premier catalogue, CLICK HERE.

Five years ago, another Inglis sale-topper, All Too Hard, won the Talindert, less than a year after he was the most expensive colt at the Australian Easter Yearling Sale.

In the feature 3YO race at Rosehill, Man From Uncle made it back-to-back black-type wins with another dogged victory in the Group 2 Hobartville Stakes (1300m) at Rosehill.

Similarly to his victory in the Group 3 Eskimo Prince Stakes at Randwick a fortnight ago, Man From Uncle looked beaten everywhere bar the final stride again today.

Trainer Anthony Cummings paid $35,000 for Man From Uncle (Uncle Mo x Derelique) at the 2015 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, from the Fairhill Farm draft.

Cummings announced last week that he would be putting 25% of Man From Uncle for sale at the inaugural Inglis The Chairman’s Sale at Newmarket on Thursday March 30.

Still in Sydney, Classic graduate In Her Time led from pillar to post with another dominant display in the Group 2 Millie Fox Stakes.

The daughter of Time Thief and Hell It’s Hot scored an almost identical victory at Group 2 level at Randwick a fortnight ago, with her jump-and-run style seeing her become a popular mare with racegoers.

Kenedna set herself up as a serious contender for the major autumn fillies races with a dominant victory in today’s Group 3 The Vanity (1400m) at Flemington.

Trained by Darren Weir, Kenedna upstages some of Victoria’s leading fillies with a dominant display and is now set to head to Sydney for the Australian Oaks.

Kenedna (Not A Single Doubt x Miss Dodwell) was an $80,000 purchase at the 2015 Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale for Weir/John Foote Bloodstock and MDR Bloodstock from the Arrowfield Stud draft.

And consistent gelding Hey Doc added another Stakes success to his already impressive resume when bolting away with the Group 3 CS Hayes Stakes (1400m) at Flemington.

Today’s win was Hey Doc’s second Stakes success and took his career earnings to over $500,000 from 11 starts.

Hey Doc (Duporth x Heyington Honey), an $85,000 Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale purchase for McEvoy Mitchell Racing from the Rosemont Stud draft, will now likely step up to the 1600m of the Group 1 Australian Guineas at Flemington on March 4.