Written by Paul Vettise
Questions will be asked of reigning New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Jennifer Eccles (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}) in Melbourne during the spring carnival and the answers will determine the path she follows.
The rising 4-year-old will race exclusively in Australia with connections making an early call to give her every opportunity to build on her exceptional domestic record.
Jennifer Eccles will trial at home before departing for Melbourne with her first-up assignment already identified and one that trainer Shaune Ritchie has previously enjoyed success in.
Cambridge trainer Shaune Ritchie (left) with Jennifer Eccles (NZ) after her G1 New Zealand Oaks triumph | Image courtesy of Race Images
“Obviously, everyone has been up in the air with the COVID-19 restrictions and it’s highly likely a trans-Tasman bubble will be rocking and rolling before the carnival starts,” Ritchie said.
“We analysed it and Melbourne is the best place to kick off. There’s plenty of options for fillies and mares and of course if she’s going well there are all the better races.
“It’s very hard to get a line on how good she is, but whether she is right up to the elite level the spring will tell us.
Jennifer Eccles (NZ) returns to the winner's stall | Image by Peter Rubery courtesy of Race Images
“We take our horses up to Ruakaka in April and it’s a little bit warmer. With them not racing in the winter, the course proper will be in magnificent order so she’ll have a few nice gallops and a trial.
“The first target race will be in early September, the G2 Let’s Elope S. and it’s a race we won with Zurella a few years ago. It’s over 1400 metres at Flemington and it should be a beautiful race to kick her off in.”
“The first target race will be in early September, the G2 Let’s Elope S. and it’s a race we won with Zurella a few years ago.” – Shaune Ritchie
Ritchie said her performance there would determine which path Jenifer Eccles follows.
“That will give us a line and whether we step up or stick to the fillies and mares’ races. If you look at it from an analytical point of view she is unbeaten beyond a mile and her most impressive runs have been at 2000 metres,” Ritchie said.
“She deserves a crack. We will nominate for the G1 Myer S. and the G1 Cox Plate and her first few runs will tell us which is the smart direction to take.
“The attraction of the spring is the likelihood that the international raiders won’t be coming and this could be a unique year in which she does measure up. The 4-year-olds have great records in the weight-for-age races there and we’ll see if she’s good enough to take them on.”
Jennifer Eccles sealed the Filly of the Year series with runaway wins in the G2 David & Karyn Ellis Fillies’ Classic and the G2 Lowland S. before an equally dominant performance to land the G1 New Zealand Oaks.
“She had eight weeks off and we brought her in primarily because of the lower temperatures in the Waikato and she was getting a little longer in the coat,” Ritchie said.
“She did particularly well and she was feeling good and starting to kick and run around the paddock.
“She did particularly well and she was feeling good and starting to kick and run around the paddock.” – Shaune Ritchie
“We’ve got an advantage here at our training centre where we’re a kilometre walk off the track and we’ve got paddocks here so it’s quite a tranquil area and she can be boxed at night.
“She’s definitely got a lot bigger in the hind quarter, she hasn’t grown a lot and she’s never going to be a big filly. She certainly seems more mellow and a little more relaxed around the stable.
“She’s a special filly and her acceleration, as we’ve all seen, is quite unique. Whether she can accelerate away from weight-for-age horses is the question we need to answer.”
Shaune Ritchie pats Jennifer Eccles (NZ)
Jennifer Eccles is raced by the Challenge No10 Syndicate put together by Cambridge thoroughbred consultant, Adrian Clark, who paid just NZ$5000 for the filly as a weanling at Karaka, where she was offered by the Westend Partnership.
Her dam Platinum Elle (NZ) (Elnadim {USA}) was a multiple winner and stakes placed and is from the family of the former Hong Kong Horse of the Year and champion sprinter Sacred Command (Encosta De Lago).
Stablemate and G3 Wellington Cup runner-up The Good Fight (NZ) (High Chaparral {Ire}) will accompany Jennifer Eccles to Melbourne.
“Again, we’ll feel our way with him and find which level he sits out. If he’s not quite up to it in tow there are some rich country Cups there and he will be well-suited to those,” Ritchie said.
