Robert Smerdon’s Group 1 performed Thurlow heads a quality list of three-year-old fillies nominated for Saturday’s Quezette Stakes 2015 at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne.
Thurlow is the highest rated filly nominated for the 2015 Quezette Stakes in Melbourne on Saturday. Photo: Adrienne Bicknell.
One of the key support races on the PB Lawrence Stakes Day program this weekend, the $150,000 Group 3 Quezette Stakes (1100m) has attracted 18 fillies at nomination stage on Monday.
The top-rated of those is Smerdon’s daughter of Sebring who has won two of her five starts to date including the Group 3 Chairman’s Stakes (1000m) at Sandown-Hillside in February.
Eleventh after that behind Pride Of Dubai in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m), Thurlow was last seen on May 2 racing in Adelaide’s Listed Queen Adelaide Stakes (1050m) when a close second behind Strykum.
The Quezette Stakes is a nice early lead-up for fillies heading towards some of the bigger races of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival including the $500,000 Group 1 Thousand Guineas (1600m) back at Caulfield on October 10.
Last year’s Quezette Stakes winner was Sabatini (2014) who went on to run third to Amicus in the Thousand Guineas as a 20/1 shot before more Group glory in the autumn.
This year the shortest-priced of the early 2015 Thousand Guineas-bound fillies nominated for the Quezette in the futures markets for the Group 1 on Caulfield Guineas Day is the Phillip Stokes-trained Miss Gunpowder.
The Adelaide-based Pendragon filly is undefeated with two wins back home to date including her first-up success over 1100m on July 25, form she’ll look to bring to Melbourne this weekend to stakes her claims for an interstate spring campaign.
The other unbeaten fillies nominated for Saturday’s showdown are the Robbie Griffiths-trained Don’t Doubt Marley who has wins from Geelong and Sale, and Street Boss filly Petitis Filous for Ciaron Maher who was last seen winning over 1000m at Moonee Valley on August 1.
Runner-up in that same Valley lead-up, Stream Ahead is also nominated for the Vain Stakes on Saturday.
Prepared at Cranbourne by Doug Harrison, Dane Shadow filly Stream Ahead won at Bendigo in April before her second last time out and is on the up-and-up according to her trainer who likes the form coming out of the Valley race.
Other promising types in the mix include the David Hayes & Tom Dabernig-trained Blue Diamond Stakes sixth placed Air Apparent who was last seen running fourth in the Group 3 Breeders Stakes at Morphettville when beaten only a quarter length in late March, Colin Little’s Foreplay filly Jalan Jalan coming off a win down the Flemington straight from last month, stakes winning Star Witness filly Pearl Star whose last start was a third in the Listed Redoute’s Choice Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield in early May and the Lee & Anthony Freedman-trained Queen Adelaide Stakes winner Strykum.
See below for the full Quezette Stakes 2015 nominations, then head to Ladbrokes.com.au to open your account with the country’s leading online bookie before Saturday’s final fields are out on Wednesday and betting opens on the weekend’s features.
2015 Quezette Stakes Nominations
Caulfield Racecourse – 15/08/2015
| # | Form (Last 10) | Horse | Sex | Age | Trainer | Hcp. Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 224624x | AIR APPARENT | F | 3 | David Hayes & Tom Dabernig | 69 |
| 2 | 11 | DON’T DOUBT MARLEY | F | 3 | Robbie Griffiths | 67 |
| 3 | 9x | EFFORTLESS MISS | F | 3 | Shane Fliedner | 60 |
| 4 | 1649x | GIULIETTA | F | 3 | Gai Waterhouse | 68 |
| 5 | 46×1173 | GRISBI’S RUN | F | 3 | John McArdle | 67 |
| 6 | 131 | JALAN JALAN | F | 3 | Colin Little | 72 |
| 7 | 4 | MADONNA LILY | F | 3 | John Salanitri | 61 |
| 8 | 1×1 | MISS GUNPOWDER | F | 3 | Phillip Stokes | 68 |
| 9 | 11L3x | MISTY WATERS | F | 3 | Michael Moroney | 70 |
| 10 | 17x | OUR VIDIA (NZ) | F | 3 | Byron Cozamanis | 66 |
| 11 | 9x37413x | PEARL STAR | F | 3 | Matt Laurie | 70 |
| 12 | 11 | PETITS FILOUS | F | 3 | Ciaron Maher | 73 |
| 13 | 303x | PURSUITS | F | 3 | John O’Shea | 65 |
| 14 | 74 | SAGITTARIAN | F | 3 | Henry Dwyer | 59 |
| 15 | 1×2 | STREAM AHEAD | F | 3 | Doug Harrison | 65 |
| 16 | 4x14x | STRYKUM | F | 3 | Lee & Anthony Freedman | 70 |
| 17 | 11038x | TAKE PRIDE | F | 3 | Murray Johnson | 68 |
| 18 | 21x10x2x | THURLOW | F | 3 | Robert Smerdon | 75 |
