Saturday summary: Snapdancer waltzes to another Group 1 win in the Memsie

Cover image courtesy of Bronwen Healy

Snapdancer takes out Memsie

Wonderful mare Snapdancer (Choisir) added a second Group 1 to her record when she landed a vintage edition of the G1 Memsie S. at Caulfield, and in doing so became the first mare since Atlantic Jewel (Fastnet Rock) in 2013 to win the 1400 metre Group 1.

The 6-year-old mare landed her first Group 1 when she took out the G1 Robert Sangster S. in May, a performance she followed up when finishing second in the G1 Tattersall’s Tiara.

Ridden once again by Ethan Brown, the mare continued in that rich vein of form, beating I’m Thunderstruck (NZ) (Shocking) by 0.5l. Three-time Group 1 winner Cascadian (GB) (New Approach {Ire}) finished a further 1.5l away in third.

Maher suggested that the $15 million The Everest at Randwick on October 15 could be on the agenda for the mare but suggested the 1200 metres might not suit the mare.

"She seems to be really dominant at that 1400 metres, she has a high-cruising speed," Maher told Racing.com.

"If she did nothing else this preparation, this year has been phenomenal for her. She is just going from strength to strength and I think she'll get better again.

"I always thought she would be better at four and five and I think she is still developing, so the sky is the limit."

High praise

Meanwhile, Ethan Brown was effusive in his praise of the mare, who handed her first Group 1 when she landed the G1 Tattersall’s Tiara.

"She jumped so well, established a lead and switched off when I asked her to," Brown said. "Tactically I just wanted to use her residual fitness, knowing that most of those horses were first-up resuming stayers.

"She still had to do it and she's done exactly that. I thought she was really impressive, she just keeps raising the bar."

Snapdancer was purchased by Seamus Mills Bloodstock for $60,000 at the Inglis Chairman’s Sale in 2017, before being snapped up by former trainer Darren Weir and Brad Spicer’s Spicer Thoroughbreds for $180,000 from the Sledmere Stud draft at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale in 2018.

The mare is by the late Coolmore Stud sire Choisir and is out of Snapdragon (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and she was purchased by The Mission Syndicate at the 2018 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale for $60,000 in 2018.

Sweet Ride shocks rivals in San Domenico

Sweet Ride (Deep Field) dented the reputation of some talented horses as he produced a dominant performance to win the G3 San Domenico S. at Randwick on Saturday.

In what looked a hot race on paper, the Annabel Neasham-trained son of Deep Field emerged out of the pack to saunter away with a 1.47l victory over Nettuno (I Am Invincible), while the winner's Group 2-winning stablemate Swiss Exile (Pariah), and the more fancied of the pair, finished another 0.12l away in third.

Neasham was not at all surprised to see the colt win on Saturday and said he would now head to the G2 Run To The Rose.

"First-up this preparation was disappointing, but he has got better and better each time and we haven't missed him at home, we've put a lot of work into him," Neasham said. "He was the fittest horse here today.

"I was amazed at his price to be honest. I thought his run the other day was very good, he (accidentally) took a towel around with him as well."

Neasham was also pleased with the return of Swiss Exile and says he will face a rematch with his barn mate in G2 Run To The Rose in two weeks. However, it is likely that after the Group 2 the stablemates will go their separate ways, with Sweet Ride likely to head to the G1 Coolmore Stud S., while Swiss Exile will head to G1 Golden Rose S.

"The other horse is fit and has gone terrific but Swiss Exile, he has gone super. He has beaten a lot of very good colts there," Neasham said.

Bred and raced by Bert Vieira, the colt is the first foal for the four-time. winner How Sweet It Is, is a daughter of the stakes-placed dual city winner Southern Venture (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}), half-sister to the four-time Group 1 winner Metal Bender (NZ) (Danasinga).

Further back this is also the same family as the G1 The Goodwood H. winner Keeper (Danehill {USA}), the G1 New Zealand Oaks heroine Amarelinha (NZ) (Savabeel) and Newgate Farm-based sire North Pacific.

Jacquinot too good in McNeil

The Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr-trained Jacquinot (Rubick) proved too strong in the G3 McNeil S. at Caulfield on Saturday as he lived up to the enormous potential he showed as a 2-year-old to run away with an impressive victory, a performance which propelled him to the head of the market for the G1 Caulfield Guineas.

The son of the in-form Swettenham Stud stallion Rubick, Jacquinot finished third in the G1 Blue Diamond S. as a juvenile, before running sixth in the G1 Golden Slipper S.

However, he looked to have come back even stronger as a 3-year-old, scooting away to post a 1.5l victory over the Godolphin raced Aft Cabin (Astern). Tijuana (American Pharoah {USA}) was a further 1.8l away in third.

“In the Blue Diamond here last year against all those colts he was the most immature horse, scopey, leggy and yet to furnish," Kent Jnr said.

"But in the yard today (Saturday) he's really filled out and you could tell."

With Saturday's first-up victory behind him, Kent Jnr said Jacquinot would now head to Sydney for his next two starts before returning to Melbourne for the G1 Caulfield Guineas in October.

"Next start we'll go to the Run To The Rose in Sydney, then hopefully the Golden Rose and then back for the Caulfield Guineas," Kent Jnr said. "It's really exciting."

Meanwhile, Damian Lane said the colt had improved as a 3-year-old and believed he was an exciting prospect going forward.

"He's just really learning all the time and he took great experience from that first prep, having to try and re-educate him jumping out of the barriers, little things like that has really set a good solid foundation for him," Lane said.

"This time he seems more switched on. He seems more relaxed and he knows what it's all about. Hopefully his attitude stays as good as it is now and it's not his last victory of the spring."

Another star for Maurice?

Arrowfield Stud’s high-class shuttle stallion Maurice (Jpn) looks to have another star in Australia as the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Kibou landed the G3 Up And Coming S. at Randwick on Saturday.

A winner of two starts as a juvenile, Kibou kicked off his 3-year-old campaign with a fourth-place finish in the Listed The Rosebud and he built on that performance, staying on strongly to beat Golden Mile (Astern) by 2.3l. Basquiat (Snitzel) was another 3.5l away in third.

There was drama at the start, with pre-race Conqueror (Churchill {Ire}) being scratched at the start after being unruly in the barriers and Kibou took full advantage of his absence.

Kibou will now head to the G1 Golden Rose S. at Rosehill on September 24 where he will attempt to emulate the exploits of his stablemate In The Congo (Snitzel) who landed the Group 1 last season.

Co-trainer Bott said Kibou would likely head into the Group 1 via a start in the G3 Ming Dynasty Quality H.

"The most likely path to the Golden Rose is through the Ming Dynasty Quality," Bott said. "His two main targets are the Golden Rose and Spring Champion S.

"It's not easy having to stay wide off the fence and race out there by himself, but he is showing improvement each time he races.

"If he can continue to do that each time, then he is going to be hard to beat in his races through the spring."

Bred by Arrowfield Pastoral and purchased by Gai Waterhouse, Adrian Bott and Kestrel Thoroughbreds for $170,000 at the 2021 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, Kibou is the ninth stakes winner for Maurice, who is standing at Arrowfield for a fee of $82,500 (inc GST).

Chain Of Lightning storms home

The Peter Moody-trained Chain Of Lightning (Fighting Sun) kept her unbeaten record intact as she added a valuable first black-type win to her record in the G3 Cockram S. at Caulfield on Saturday.

Lining up for her fifth career start, the daughter of Fighting Sun kept finding more for Jamie Kah, eventually galloping away to an impressive 1.3l win over She's All Class (I Am Invincible). Kissonallforcheeks (Written Tycoon) was another 0.8l further afield in third.

The highly touted mare Passive Aggressive (Fastnet Rock), who raced at the head of affairs, faded in the final stages to finish fourth.

Moody's assistant trainer Katherine Coleman said Chain Of Lightning had continued to improve from the time she first arrived at the stable.

"She's a pretty special horse," Coleman said. "My heart is beating so hard after that. That was really special to see and to still be undefeated now, five wins from five starts.

"She was so well-educated when she came to us. She's been a pleasure to have around and is just so easy to do anything with and you see that in her races.

"She's just so tractable, we can put her wherever we want and she's still finishing off that way."

Chain Of Lightning is a homebred for Ramsey Pastoral and she is out of the city-placed winner Magic Art (Perugino {USA}).

Imperatriz lands Foxbridge Plate

Dual Group 1 winner Imperatriz (I Am Invincible) added yet another stakes race to her record as she stormed home to land the G2 Foxbridge Plate at Te Rapa on Saturday.

The heavily backed $2.20 favourite for the race, off the back of a successful season opener at Ruakaka three weeks earlier, Imperatriz was shooting for her fifth win in succession after closing out her 3-year-old season with three-straight victories that included two at the elite level.

Trainer Mark Walker said the mare would now head to the first Group 1 contest of the season, the G1 Tarzino Trophy at Hastings in a fortnight.

"She's one right out of the box," Walker said. "She is quite special and it is good to see Opie back riding well on a day like this.

"(Starting at Ruakaka) was more about predicting the track could be Heavy today, so we didn't want to hurt her coming here first-up with the program she has ahead of her.

"She galloped brilliantly on Tuesday and I said to Sam Bergerson (assistant trainer) I thought she was ready and she didn't need a gallop on Thursday.

"When the track turned up the way it did you do second guess yourself, but I think we got it right."

Bred by Raffles Dancers NZ Ltd, Imperatriz was bought at the 2020 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale for $360,000 by Te Akau Racing principal David Ellis and she is out of the Group 3-placed mare Berimbau (Shamardal {USA}).

Berimbau herself is a half-sister to Listed winner Vinco (I Am Invincible), while further back this is the same family as Group 2 winner Royal Courtship (Royal Academy {USA}).

Shooting For Gold takes Group 3 honours

The Steven O'Dea and Matthew Hoysted-trained Shooting For Gold (Shooting To Win) showed tenacity in spades to fend off his rivals and win the G3 The McCafe at Caulfield on Saturday.

Last seen finishing third in the G3 Aurie’s Star H., the 5-year-old gelding stayed on bravely to beat Generation (Snitzel) by 0.2l, while the well-fancied Star Patrol (Starspangledbanner) finished another 1.5l off the pace in third.

Purchased for just $8000 at the Magic Millions National Yearling Sale in 2019, the 5-year-old gelding is out of six time-winning mare Amber’s Crown (Excites), making him a half-brother to stakes-placed River Bird (Epaulette).