By Daithi Harvey
The G1 Charter Keck Cramer Moir S. at Moonee Valley on Friday evening drew a quality cast of sprinters and the 1000m event produced a thrilling finish that saw last season's G1 Golden Slipper winner She Will Reign (Aus) (Manhattan Rain {Aus}) make a triumphant return to action. The 3-year-old filly was in receipt of a hefty weight allowance from her rivals and she made every pound count, coming from an unpromising position to grab the lead off Viddora (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}) in the shadow of the post to win by a short head. Sheidel (Aus) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), who made the running under Joao Moreira kept on best of the remainder to get third. Kerrin McEvoy partnered the Gary Portelli trained She Will Reign to a barrier trial win at Rosehill earlier in the month and he deputised on Friday for her Golden Slipper winning rider Ben Melham who couldn't get down to the required 50 kilos. “I was bit further out of my ground than where I thought I'd be early on,” McEvoy told Racing.com upon pulling up. “I was never really handling the corner either, she was wobbling out and I had to come widest but full credit to the filly, and indeed to Gary [Portelli] and his team. Gary has been mentioning The Everest for a while now and she's definitely going to be a force to be reckoned with in with a light weight,” he added. Portelli himself was in jubilant form after the race and he said, “We weren't really sure where we stood in the pecking order before the race, though we were hoping she was the real deal and I reckon she proved that tonight. She knows how to win and The Everest is going to be a lovely race in a fortnight's time”
A paltry A$20,000 yearling purchase at Inglis, She Will Reign is certainly a poster girl for affordable racehorse ownership and her victory on Friday boosted her earnings to over A$3m with another potential jackpot on the horizon in next month's inaugural A$10m race at Randwick. Her career is still only in its infancy and it began less than a year ago when she broke her maiden on debut at Kembla Grange. She announced her aspirations for stardom when winning the G2 Silver Slipper S. at Rosehill at February, a prelude to the real thing at the same course in March which she won in clear-cut fashion. In between though she suffered her only defeat so far when running second in the G2 Riesling S. having missed the kick. She has now won a Group 1 over five and six furlongs and has been a star for her very fortunate group of owners. Honourable mention must go to the runner up Viddora who traveled like a dream, saving ground on the rail throughout the race. The gaps opened up for her perfectly in the straight and she had the gears to avail of them only to be gunned down close home. The favourite Russian Revolution (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}) was up with the pace early on perhaps lacking some cover and his effort petered out up the straight with Hugh Bowman accepting defeat and allowing him to coast home.
Pedigree Notes…
As her yearling purchase price suggests She Will Reign's pedigree is not replete with elite performers. However it is a young family and the fact She Will Reign is the first produce out of the dual winning mare Courgette (Aus) (Charge Forward {Aus}) very much suggests it is a family we will hear more and more about. Courgette herself is one of two winners bred from the unraced Our Farm Girl (Aus) (Marscay {Aus}) who in turn is a half-sister to stakes winner Touch Of Sun (Aus) (Snippets {Aus}) and a full-sister to another stakes winner in Millie (Aus). Since She Will Reign Courgette has foaled an unnamed 2-year-old filly by Shamus Award (Aus) and a yearling colt by Time For War (Aus). Click for the free arion.co.nz catalogue-style pedigree.
AJ MOIR STAKES -G1, A$504,000, MVRC, 9-29, 3yo/up, Open Weight For, 1000mT, 0:58.30.
1–SHE WILL REIGN (AUS), 50.0, f, 3, by Manhattan Rain (Aus)
1st Dam: Courgette (Aus), by Charge Forward (Aus)
2nd Dam : Our Farm Girl (Aus), by Marscay (Aus)
3rd Dam: Sunshine Sally (Aus), by Cheraw (Ire)
(A$20,000 Ylg '16 INGFEB) 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-K McEvoy; A$304,000. Lifetime Record: 6-5-1-0, A$2,859,150. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: A.
2–Viddora (Aus), 56.5, m, 5, I Am Invincible (Aus)–Snow Flight (NZ) , by Colombia (NZ).
(A$40,000 Ylg '14 MGMMAR) O-L M Kennewell, C J Cooke, M Adami, Dr T Hodgson, Ms J E Simpson, F Fitzgibbon, Mrs G Fitzgibbon, R Williamson, J B Kaufman, N J E Lovett, M L Simpson, D Rogers & Mrs K Rogers, S Fe; B-Riva Ridge Stud SA; T-Lloyd Kennewell; J-J Bowditch; A$90,000.
3–Sheidel (Aus), 56.5, m, 6, Holy Roman Emperor (Ire)–Laventour, by Metal Storm (Fr).
O-Dorrington Farm (Mgr: R JCrabtree); B-Mr DP DE Largie WA; T-D & B Hayes & T Dabernig; J-J Moreira; A$45,000.
Margins: 0.1, 0.9, 1.6. Odds: 17/5, 30/1, 8/1.
Also Ran: Rock Magic (Aus), Voodoo Lad (Aus), Faatinah (Aus), Malaguerra (Aus), Jungle Edge (Aus), Sweet Sherry (Aus), Terravista (Aus), Derryn (Aus), Russian Revolution (Aus), Heatherly (Aus). Click for the Racing Post result or VIDEO.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
