The Mick Price-trained Badawiya has returned to racing in the best way possible at Flemington this afternoon; producing an impressive turn of foot in the final straight to take out the Group 2 Kewney Stakes (1400m).

Jumping from the gates well, jockey Craig Newitt allowed the filly to stride forward and immediately take up an ideal position in running on the heels of Mossin’ Around, Daniela Rose and Bengal Cat, who injected reasonable tempo into the race from the outset.

Offered a clear racing line upon arriving at the final straight, the Al Maher filly franked the form she has displayed in work in the lead-up to the Kewney Stakes and produced a typically strong turn of foot to find the line two lengths ahead of Don’t Doubt Mamma.

Newitt delivered a typically strong performance aboard Badawiya for success in the 2016 Kewney Stakes and believes the filly will only improve from the run.

“She was ready to go a fortnight ago and just had to be scratched on the morning of a race,” Newitt said after crossing the line.

“She trained on well and we just had a bit of a query at 1400m first-up but once she drew a soft barrier she was always going to get a good run and she’s one of the better fillies around.

“Her work has been super going into today and it’s nice she’s put the runs on the board.

“She finished third in the Thousand Guineas over a mile so to kick off over 1400m is very promising.”

Price was thrilled with Badawiya’s performance in the Kewney Stakes and revealed he will set the three-year-old for major fillies and mares races in Sydney this time.

“The advantage of barrier 2; have a nice run in the race, do no work, get the trail behind the speed and when she hooked out it was the right time for her,”

“I have tried to catch up for this 1400m race. When you miss a run it just puts you out a bit.

“I thought if she hangs on in the last 100m and runs in the money, it’s a Group race that would be fantastic, but for her to win it gives her a big tick as a clean-winded filly.

“I’m pretty sure she’ll go to Sydney. She’ll be light in a Doncaster but I just don’t think that’s the right race for her.

“I’d just like to keep her among her own age, fillies and mares – that sort of thing. Just find the right races for her without being too ambitious and she should keep winning.”

Punters who backed Badawiya to win the 2016 Kewney Stakes with Ladbrokes.com.au have been paid out on generous $5 odds for success!

2016 Kewney Stakes Results

Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Starting Price
1	3	BADAWIYA	Mick Price	Craig Newitt	–	2	55.5kg	$4.80
2	2	DON’T DOUBT MAMMA	Tony McEvoy	Dwayne Dunn	2.25L	12	55.5kg	$5
3	12	EGYPT	Mark Kavanagh	Craig Williams	3L	6	55.5kg	$10
4	9	LABDIEN	Chris Waller	Ben Melham	3.1L	9	55.5kg	$31
5	5	MOSSIN’ AROUND	John P Thompson	Blake Shinn	4.1L	1	55.5kg	$11
6	14	DANIELA ROSA –	Michael Moroney	Jake Noonan	4.6L	3	55.5kg	$17
7	8	JACQUI’S JOY (NZ)	Mitchell Beer & Max Hinton	Patrick Moloney	4.9L	11	55.5kg	$16
8	6	INDARRA (NZ)	Robert Smerdon	Mark Zahra	6.65L	5	55.5kg	$31
9	7	BENGAL CAT –	John Sadler	Damien Oliver	7.4L	7	55.5kg	$61
10	4	CATCH A FIRE	David Hayes & Tom Dabernig	Damian Lane	9.65L	4	55.5kg	$4.60F
11	11	SEMPRE LIBERA	Robert Smerdon	Nicholas Hall	12.9L	8	55.5kg	$61
LP	1	PASADENA GIRL (NZ)	Peter G Moody	Glen Boss	–	10	55.5kg	$8