Lindsay Park’s David Hayes celebrated his third Thousand Guineas success this Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival with classy filly Stay With Me emulating her mother Miss Finland who won the same classic nine years earlier.
Hayes prepared Miss Finland for her 2006 win in the three-year-old fillies’ feature at Caulfield Racecourse and then won again in 2009 with Irish Lights.
This Caulfield Guineas Day the impeccably bred Stay With Me, by Street Cry from Miss Finland, made it a hat-trick with her impressive victory in Saturday’s $500,000 Group 1 Schweppes Thousand Guineas (1600m).
Eleven fillies lined up in the race and of those Stay With Me was the slowest out of the barriers for her hoop Dwayne Dunn.
Take Pride set a fierce pace up front from the Phillip Stokes-trained Thousand Guineas Prelude winner Miss Gunpowder who moved across into second while Mick Price’s last start Group 2 Edward Manifold Stakes winner Badawiya settled in third.
At the 1000m Ciaron Maher’s Prelude third placegetter Jameka had lots of work to do tracking second last, with the Peter Moody-trained Group 1 winning favourite Pasadena Girl racing midfield out wide.
On the straight with 300m to go, Take Pride was still leading but Price’s Al Maher filly Badawiya was coming down the outside.
Stay With Me finally got through thanks to a tactical ride by Dunn, aboard for the Listed Atlantic Jewel Stakes (1200m) win at Moonee Valley two back and the below par sixth in the Prelude last time out.
She and Badawiya both raced up but Stay With Me ($8) got in front with 100m left, pulling away to beat home the fast-finishing Jameka ($8.50) by one and three quarter lengths.
The same margin back again for third to finish off the Thousand Guineas trifecta was Badawiya ($6) on the quick back-up after her Flemington win over the mile only last Sunday.
The winning ride from Dunn was outstanding as his filly as slow to begin, but he saved the ground back towards the inside before coming into it with seconds to spare on an outstanding filly who powered away for her comprehensive victory emulating Miss Finland from nearly a decade before.
“She just jumped up straight into the air at the start,” Dunn explained.
“I just had to bite my tongue and go back inside and wait for luck.
“Her full class came out. Her mother was a superstar and she’s very, very good too.
“Class rose to the top.
“Today she’s bought her A-game.”
Admitting he’d been unhappy with Dunn’s ride on the Thousand Guineas winner in the Prelude last month, today Hayes was full of praise for the hoop and his effort in the Group 1.
“I was critical of Dwayne two weeks ago but jeez I’m thrilled today,” he said.
“I loved his poise peeling off the bend.
“It was a brilliant ride on a brilliant filly.
“She’s the best-bred filly in Australia and I think now she’s probably the best filly too.”
Hayes, who trains in partnership with his nephew Tom Dabernig, said the options were open with Stay With Me but possible grand final runs included the $1 million Group 1 Mackinnon Stakes (2000m) at Flemington on Victoria Derby Day, October 31, or even the $1 million Group 1 Crown Oaks (2500m) on November 5 – the latter Miss Finland also won in 2006.
“We’ll have a team meeting now,” he said.
“We’ve won the Group 1 now.
“We’ll see how she pulls up. Whether it’s the Oaks (next) I’m not sure. We might even look at the Mackinnon or the Myer. We’ll just see.”
The $500,000 Group 1 Myer Classic (1600m) also runs on Victoria Derby Day.
To back Stay With Me next race as she chases more elite level glory this spring make sure you’ve got an account open online with Ladbrokes.com.au!
2015 Thousand Guineas Results & Finishing Order
Caulfield Race 8 – 10/10/2015
Place | # | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Br. | Wgt. | SP |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 7 | STAY WITH ME | David Hayes & Tom Dabernig | – | Dwayne Dunn | 4 | 55.5kg | $8 |
2 | 4 | JAMEKA | Ciaron Maher | Mark Zahra | 1.75L | 9 | 55.5kg | $8.50 |
3 | 6 | BADAWIYA | Mick Price | Craig Newitt | 3L | 10 | 55.5kg | $5.50 |
4 | 1 | PASADENA GIRL (NZ) | Peter G Moody | Hugh Bowman | 3.4L | 7 | 55.5kg | $4F |
5 | 5 | TAKE PRIDE | Murray Johnson | Patrick Moloney (a) | 3.6L | 5 | 55.5kg | $15 |
6 | 3 | SAGARONNE | Toby Edmonds | Blake Shinn | 4.85L | 3 | 55.5kg | $21 |
7 | 10 | SUPER CASH | Andrew Noblet | Kerrin McEvoy | 5.35L | 2 | 55.5kg | $17 |
8 | 2 | MISS GUNPOWDER | Phillip Stokes | Craig Williams | 5.45L | 11 | 55.5kg | $7 |
9 | 8 | PAYROLL | Richard Laming | Jim Cassidy | 6.45L | 1 | 55.5kg | $14 |
10 | 9 | ALASKAN ROSE (NZ) | Michael Moroney | Steven Arnold | 13.45L | 6 | 55.5kg | $26 |
11 | 11 | DON’T DOUBT MARLEY | Robbie Griffiths | Chris Parnham | 25.45L | 8 | 55.5kg | $91 |