Popular mare Streama recorded her fourth victory at Group 1 level with a typically professional performance in the 2014 Doomben Cup this afternoon.
Jockey Blake Shinn opted to push forward on Streama in the early stages of the race and settled the Stratum mare in a beautiful condition just behind the leaders Leebaz and Fat Al.
Shinn angled Streama off the fence coming around the turn and she responded well when asked for an extra effort to run past Leebaz and hold off the fast-finishing Junoob who worked home strongly down the outside of the field.
Trainer Guy Walter has suggested that Streama may be retired to begin a career as a broodmare, but Shinn said after the race that he was not thinking about the future and just wanted to relish the moment on one of his favourite mares.
“I can’t tell you how special this is,” Shinn said.
“To everybody involved, the whole stable and Guy Walter and more so the horse.
“She has been around for a long time and she has been the flag bearer for Guy’s stable for a number of years.
“It has been great to get another Group 1 against her name.
“It is up to Guy and the connections, but I think that it is just a matter of savoring the moment for what it is today and it is a very special moment.”
Shinn has developed a very successful partnership with Streama in the past 12 months, piloting the mare to victory in the Group 1 George Main Stakes (1600m) during the 2013 Sydney Spring Racing Carnival, and he said that he was very confident heading into the race and was just hoping to receive a bit of luck in running in the 2014 Doomben Cup.
“I was very confident, I galloped her on Tuesday and she just worked beautifully,” Shinn said.
“It is very hard to win Group 1s and you have to get the right run in transit, but I was able to position her third the fence behind Leebaz and I just stalked him the whole way.
“She has that grittiness, she is really determined and she knows where the winning post is.”
Walter was delighted to see Streama record another victory at Group 1 level and praised the consistency of the mare, who has had won a Group 1 in every calendar year since she made her racing debut back in 2011.
Walter said that he was still unsure whether Streama would head to the breeding barn and said that he could not have asked for a better ride with the five-year-old – naming her as one of the best horses that he has ever trained.
“I couldn’t preempt the owners there, but she has been a wonderful mare.
“She won the Keith McKay as a two-year-old and here she is as a rising six-year-old with a fourth Group 1 win.
“She has won black type races from 1200 to a mile and a half and she has never had an unsound day.
“It must be close to the end of her career and this is certainly a crowning moment of her career to win a race like this.
“She has had a lot of big moments, but it is hard to top today.”
Walter and Shinn have formed an extremely tight bond since the leading hoop made his as a jockey, comparing each other to family, and Walter was quick to pay credit to his stable rider.
The veteran trainer said that he was delighted with Shinn’s ride on Streama and acknowledged just how big an asset the Melbourne Cup winning jockey is to his stable.
“It was a wonderful ride; he had a awkward gate, but got her into a magnificent position and he is just such a good rider,” Walter said.
“He has an outstanding record on this mare.
“I am very lucky to have a rider of his skill and he is a great stable rider because he is very mindful of the fact that every horse is important and he will talk to me about a maiden horse like he will a black type horse.
“He is a very dedicated rider and he is absolutely top class.”
2014 Doomben Cup Results
Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Starting Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 8 | STREAMA | Guy Walter | Blake Shinn | – | 8 | 57kg | $4.20EF |
2 | 7 | LEEBAZ (NZ) | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | James McDonald | 0.8L | 2 | 59kg | $7 |
3 | 5 | JUNOOB (GB) | Chris Waller | Nash Rawiller | 1L | 3 | 59kg | $4.20EF |
4 | 4 | AKZAR (IRE) | Darren Weir | Brad Rawiller | 2.3L | 6 | 59kg | $5 |
5 | 1 | MORIARTY (IRE) | Chris Waller | Craig Newitt | 2.7L | 7 | 59kg | $11 |
6 | 9 | FLORIA (NZ) | Peter G Moody | Luke Nolen | 2.9L | 1 | 57kg | $41 |
7 | 3 | MR O’CEIRIN (NZ) | Ciaron Maher | Glen Boss | 3.9L | 10 | 59kg | $10 |
8 | 10 | ANGEL OF MERCY | Gerald Ryan | Damian Browne | 4.9L | 4 | 57kg | $51 |
9 | 2 | FAT AL | Peter G Moody | Chris Munce | 12.9L | 9 | 59kg | $51 |
10 | 6 | SLOW PACE (USA) | Kris Lees | Jim Cassidy | 21.9L | 5 | 59kg | $17 |