A little over a year ago, Scott Darby and his team at Darby Racing shelled out A$20,000 at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale for a daughter of Manhattan Rain (Aus). Fast forward 13 months to Saturday's A$3.5-million G1 Golden Slipper and the filly, now named She Will Reign (Aus), wrote the latest chapter in her Cinderella story when winning the world's richest juvenile race at Rosehill. She has now won four of five starts and pushed her bankroll past A$2.5-million.
Dispatched as the co-favourite with her last-out G2 Reisling S. conqueror Frolic (Aus) (Hussonet) and 'TDN Rising Star' Tulip (Aus) (Pierro {Aus}), She Will Reign broke handily and was promptly guided to the rail by jockey Ben Melham as the Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner Houtzen (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}) took up her customary position on the lead. She Will Reign, easily visible crawling up the fence in her white silks, had picked off half the field by the time they passed the halfway point, and she turned into the straight with just Houtzen to nab and with Frolic in her slipstream a few lengths behind. While others fanned out in search of better ground, that pair's rail-riding tactics proved shrewd. She Will Reign collared Houtzen at the 250 metre mark and was never truly threatened thereafter, getting to the line 2 1/4 lengths the best, with Frolic grabbing second on the fence. Menari (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}) out wide crossed the line a head to the better of Tulip, but those placings were reversed on grounds of interference, making it a trifecta for fillies.
Saturday, Rosehill, Australia
GOLDEN SLIPPER S.-G1, A$3,539,500, ATC, 3-18, 2yo, Open Set Weight, 1200mT, 1:15.04, Heavy.
1–&SHE WILL REIGN, 54.5, f, 2, by Manhattan Rain
1st Dam: Courgette, by Charge Forward
2nd Dam: Our Farm Girl, by Marscay
3rd Dam: Sunshine Sally, by Cheraw (IRE)
(A$20,000 Ylg 2016 WI Classic Yearling Sale) O-M D Holland,
Mrs K A Allison, G C Bachell, R A Barrett, M J Cameron, B Craig,
M Evans, B Furness, J A Haworth, T Hill, J A Green, R Kewley, A
Pieper, J W Stone, M R Tobin, R S Wall; B-Mr G Bachell NSW;
T-G Portelli; J-B Melham; A$2,039,500. Lifetime Record:
5-4-1-0, A$2,555,150. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Frolic, 54.5, f, 2, Husson (ARG)–Leveller, by Redoute's Choice.
(A$100,000 Ylg 2016 WI Classic Yearling Sale) O-J W Kelly
Suffolk Vale & Co (Mgr: T W Kelly); B-M & C Lowe Bloodstock
QLD; T-M J Freedman; J-Tommy Berry; A$610,000.
3–Tulip, 54.5, f, 2, Pierro–Musidora, by Rock of Gibraltar (IRE).
'TDN Rising Star' (NZ$400,000 Ylg 2016 NZB National Yearling
Sale) O-Coolmore (Mgr: Mrs S Magnier), Cobra (Mgr: T V
Magnier), M J Kirwan, J W Hillier & G P Heffernan;
B-Orpendale NSW; T-D & B Hayes & T Dabernig; J-K Mc Evoy;
A$300,000.
Margins: 2.3 len, 5.1 len, 5.2 len. Odds: 7.00, 7.00, 7.00.
Also Ran: Menari, Houtzen, Trapeze Artist, Diamond Tathagata, Veranillo, Chauffeur, Madeenaty, Pariah, Trekking, Single Bullet, Formality, Teaspoon, Catchy.
Click for the Racing Post result. VIDEO.
She Will Reign aired by 8 1/4 lengths when winning on debut at 4-5 at Kembla Grange on Dec. 10, and she followed up in the A$250,000 Inglis Nursery when encountering heavy ground for the first time seven days later. Both those outings were over 1000 metres, and she stepped up off the layoff to take the G2 Silver Slipper S. over 1100 on this track on Feb. 18. Distance queries surfaced when the dark bay was overturned by Frolic as the 2-5 favourite over this 1200 metre trip in the G2 Reisling S. two weeks ago on a heavy track, but she silenced her doubters emphatically on Saturday.
Darby Racing's Scott Darby, who is enjoying a dream run with his syndicates, having also purchased the dual Group 1-winning filly Yankee Rose (Aus) (All American {Aus}) for A$10,000 out of the Classic sale a year before, said, “This is it. This is everything. This means so much to so many people. I don't know where to start. It's just amazing, it really is.”
Yankee Rose finished second in last year's Slipper before going on to win the G1 Sires' Produce S. and the G1 Spring Champion S.
Trainer Gary Portelli told breednet.com.au after his first Slipper score, “This game has taken me a long way. I struggled to get through year 10, I was a battler working a night shift in a bakery but my dream was to become a city trainer. It just goes to show if there's anyone out there that's not sure what they're doing in life, stick at it and work hard because days like this might come. It's a great kick along for us. We've been trying to win this race for a long time and I think I'm going to need to watch a replay.”
Portelli praised the ride delivered by Melham, which was contrary to the tactics he initially wanted to use.
“It was an absolute peach of a ride,” the trainer said. “I told him to go out quick, get across because I thought that was the way to go today, and he looked at me and went quiet. He said he'd rather go back and ride her the same way he did in the Silver Slipper.”
Melham added, “What an absolute thrill, the whole way through she has been a little darling, this horse, and she hasn't put a foot wrong. She is not overly big but I tell you what, she certainly makes up for it with all heart. Gary and the team have done a tremendous job with this filly and have prepared her for a hard Golden Slipper run and you certainly need a fit horse in these conditions today. All the credit goes to Gary, really he has done a great job and here we are, we have won a bloody Slipper.”
Jockey Tommy Berry said of runner-up Frolic, “The winner actually took my spot and she took a little while to find her feet after that. She was gallant in defeat and looks like the perfect horse for the [G1] Champagne [Apr. 15] and [G1] Sires [Apr. 1].”
Rider Kerrin McEvoy said of the third-placed Tulip, “Massive run. We had no luck, wide the whole way. She started to move into it with good purpose on the corner, she was then pushed wide in the straight but kept finding the ground. She probably didn't love the ground.”
Jockey Jeff Lloyd said of Houtzen, who dropped back to fifth, “She traveled well in front but when she hit the course proper her legs just went everywhere. She fought to the line but never handled the conditions.”
One of the disappointments of the race was last-out G1 Blue Diamond S. winner Catchy (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) who trailed in last, and rider Craig Williams said, “She unfortunately couldn't handle the ground it was so heavy. I just looked after her.” The same excuses were given by the riders of Diamond placegetters Pariah (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}) (11th) and Formality (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) (14th).
Pedigree Notes…
She Will Reign becomes the first domestic Group 1 winner for her sire, who has been relocated from Arrowfield Stud to Victoria's Blue Gum Farm for the 2017 season. Manhattan Rain notched his first Group 1 winner in January when Whisky Baron (Aus) took South Africa's G1 Sun Met.
She Will Reign is the first foal for her dam, whose yearling filly by first-season sire Shamus Award (Aus) will be offered by Yarraman Park Stud as lot 86 at next month's Inglis Easter yearling sale. The mare produced a colt by Time For War (Aus) last year shortly before that young sire died from colic at Kitchwin Hills. She Will Reign's third dam is the G2 Reisling S. winner and G1 AJC Oaks second Sunshine Sally (Aus) (Cheraw {Ire}), herself the dam of a pair of stakes winners. G1 Toorak H. winner Penghulu (Belele {Aus}) appears under the fourth dam. Click or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
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