Lindsey Smith’s brilliant old galloper Scales Of Justice was back to Group 1 winning form at Caulfield on Saturday taking out the 2019 Memsie Stakes ahead of a potential Group 1 $5 million Ladbrokes Cox Plate bid this October.
Scales Of Justice is Cox Plate bound after winning the 2019 Memsie Stakes at Caulfied. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.
Formerly based in WA with Perth expat Smith, who is now based at Warrnambool, Not A Single seven-year-old Scales Of Justice celebrated his second elite level win in the Group 1 $1 million Memsie Stakes (1400m).
The victory came three years after his first in the 2016 Railway Stakes at Ascot over the mile.
The horse resumed racing this July at Caulfield and was ultra-impressive first-up in a 3.25 length win in the Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes (1200m).
He then finished second as the beaten odds-on favourite in Adelaide’s Group 3 Spring Stakes (1200m) on August 17, before bouncing back in the Memsie Stakes thanks to a peach of a ride by Dean Yendall.
“Good rider,” Smith said post-win.
“He deserved this win and so did the horse.”
Smith said he partly blamed himself for the horse’s Spring Stakes loss at Morphettville when he gave Yendall the wrong riding instructions, an error in judgement that he atoned for in Melbourne leaving things up to the jockey this time round.
“I thought his run in Adelaide wasn’t that bad,” Smith said.
“I gave the wrong instructions, which is why I was the worst jockey in the world. I got involved when I should have left it up to the jockey.
“Anyway, today counts.”
The speed mapped perfectly for Scales Of Justice in the 2019 Memsie Stakes and Yendall rode him accordingly as the field was led around by predicted front-runner Begood Toya Mother.
Scales Of Justice got the gun run as Daniel Bowman’s flying five-year-old Begood Toya Mother, coming off six straight wins and having his first weight-for-age run, rolled along setting a good temp in the lead.
Yendall had his mount poised getting the lovely run in transit, before powering home allowing Scales Of Justice to go through his gears nicely to hit the front 100m out form the line.
The Godolphin-raced favourite Alizee had settled second last in the run and was powering home down the outside late, but Scales Of Justice ($3.870) was too good.
In the end the Memsie Stakes winner had three-quarters of a length to spare on the line from the Lindsay Park-trained runner-up So Si Bon ($21) who came off a lead-up win in Flemington’s Group 3 Aurie’s Star Handicap (1200m) earlier in the month.
Alizee meanwhile lost few admirers crossing under a length back third to finish off the Memsie Stakes trifecta.
Yendall celebrated his sixth Group 1 success with the Memsie Stakes result and was over the moon.
“Words can’t describe how I’m feeling at the moment,” he said.
“Just a lovely horse to ride. He does everything in his stride…he can be a bit lazy, so I blame myself a little bit for the Adelaide defeat.
“Today he had a superior run through the race. They went at a good, solid tempo.
“I produced him early…let him rip and he just took off for me.
“They were closing in, but he fought them off really easily so onwards and upwards.
“Obviously he’s proven over more distance, so a Cox Plate come late October.”
Held at Moonee Valley on October 26, futures 2019 Cox Plate odds at race sponsor Ladbrokes.com.au have subsequently firmed on Scales Of Justice from $51 into $31.
2019 Memsie Stakes Results & Finishing Order
| Place | # | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Barrier | Weight | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | SCALES OF JUSTICE | Lindsey Smith | Dean Yendall | – | 5 | 59kg | $3.70 |
| 2 | 8 | SO SI BON | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Luke Nolen | 0.75L | 3 | 59kg | $21 |
| 3 | 11 | ALIZEE | James Cummings | Damien Oliver | 0.85L | 11 | 57kg | $2.70F |
| 4 | 1 | HARTNELL (GB) | James Cummings | Craig Williams | 1.25L | 1 | 59kg | $10 |
| 5 | 7 | DESPATCH | Tony McEvoy | Jamie Kah | 2.75L | 8 | 59kg | $31 |
| 6 | 9 | BEGOOD TOYA MOTHER | Daniel Bowman | Declan Bates | 2.85L | 13 | 59kg | $11 |
| 7 | 12 | OOHOOD | Tony McEvoy | Luke Currie | 3.6L | 6 | 56.5kg | $31 |
| 8 | 2 | BLACK HEART BART | Lindsey Smith | Brad Rawiller | 4L | 9 | 59kg | $61 |
| 9 | 13 | FUNDAMENTALIST | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Michael Walker | 5.75L | 4 | 56.5kg | $17 |
| 10 | 3 | HUMIDOR (NZ) | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Damian Lane | 6.25L | 10 | 59kg | $26 |
| 11 | 6 | CLIFF’S EDGE | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Mark Zahra | 7L | 2 | 59kg | $12 |
| 12 | 10 | SESAR | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | Dwayne Dunn | 7.75L | 7 | 58.5kg | $31 |
| 13 | 4 | MATERIAL MAN | Pat Carey | Rhys McLeod | 12L | 12 | 59kg | $101 |
