Field of 11 for Ninth Leg of Filly of the Year Series
2 March 2017
A talented field of 11 fillies will clash in the ninth leg of the New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series, the $70,000 Group 3 McKee Family Sunline Vase (2100m) at Ellerslie on Saturday.
In a significant week for the Series, the ninth leg comes just two days after the eighth – the $70,000 Group 3 Little Avondale Lowland Stakes (2100m) at Hastings on Thursday.
Saturday’s Sunline Vase provides the opportunity for fillies to build towards the Series finale, the $300,000 Group 1 Wellfield New Zealand Oaks (2400m) at Trentham on March 18, and in the process make big moves up the leader board.
Only one runner in Saturday’s field already has Filly of the Year Series points to her name – Date Night (NZ) (Savabeel), who earned 2 points for running third in the Group 2 Eight Carat Classic on Boxing Day.
The top-rated runner in the field is Eleonora (NZ) (Makfi), who made a name for herself in Melbourne in the spring with a Group 3 win in the Ethereal Stakes (2000m) before running third in the Group 1 VRC Oaks (2500m) at Flemington.
Sacred Rhythm (NZ) (Pentire) represents the owner-trainer combination of Raffles Racing and Cambridge’s Tony Pike. That team has won this race twice in recent years with More Than Sacred (More Than Ready) and Rock Diva (NZ) (Lucky Unicorn). Sacred Rhythm has had three starts for two wins including last month’s Listed Oaks Prelude (1800m) at New Plymouth.
The winner of Saturday’s Sunline Vase will pick up 6 points, with 3 points for the runner-up and 1.5 for third.
The Sunline Vase will be run as race 6 on Saturday at 3.31pm.
| # | Horse | Draw | Comments | Trainer | Jockey |
| 1 | Eleonora | 5 | A granddaughter of the champion mare Ethereal (NZ) (Rhythm), the Makfi filly Eleonora (NZ) won a Group 3 named in Ethereal's honour in Melbourne last spring. She also placed in the Group 1 VRC Oaks (2500m) and is building towards a raid on the Sydney autumn carnival. She carries the colours of part-owner Lib Petagna, who won the Filly of the Year title last season with another Makfi filly, Sofia Rosa (NZ). | Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman | Danielle Johnson |
| 2 | Sacred Rhythm | 11 | Representing the same owner-trainer combination as recent Sunline Vase winners More Than Sacred (More Than Ready) and Rock Diva (NZ) (Lucky Unicorn), Pentire filly Sacred Rhythm (NZ) has won two of her three starts including a last-start Listed win in the Oaks Prelude (1800m). | Tony Pike | Vinnie Colgan |
| 3 | Date Night | 10 | A well-bred daughter of Savabeel and the Group 1 performer Dating (NZ) (O'Reilly), Date Night (NZ) has had a win and four placings in her eight-start career. Two of those placings have been at stakes level - in the Group 2 Eight Carat Classic (1600m) and Listed Oaks Prelude (1800m). | Graeme & Debbie Rogerson | Lisa Allpress |
| 4 | Dreamcrafter | 4 | Mastercraftsman filly Dreamcrafter (NZ) boasts a strong record of two wins and other three top-four finishes in her six start career, with that form boosted by the likes of New Zealand Derby candidate Charles Road (Myboycharlie). She was an impressive last-start winner, scoring by two and a half lengths at Avondale. | Michael Moroney & Pam Gerard | Jason Waddell |
| 5 | Veearma | 8 | Carrying the distinctive green colours of her breeders and part-owners, Cambridge Stud's Sir Patrick and Lady Hogan, Veearma (NZ) (Darci Brahma) has had two wins and a placing in her five starts to date. | Peter & Dawn Williams | |
| 6 | Dame Margo Fonteyn | 9 | High Chaparral filly Dame Margo Fonteyn (NZ) has had just four starts, winning two of them impressively. She carries the Fortuna colours worn to Karaka Million glory this year by Melody Belle (NZ) (Commands). | Stephen Autridge & Jamie Richards | Opie Bosson |
| 7 | Hot Saki | 3 | The lightly raced Hot Saki (NZ) (No Excuse Needed) has had just two starts, running sixth on debut before scoring an impressive two-length win at Te Aroha. | Shaune Ritchie | |
| 8 | Rube Bridges | 1 | Stephen Marsh's Darci Brahma filly Rube Bridges (NZ) made a big impression with a special conditions maiden win at Ellerslie on New Year's Day. She has since run sixth in the Group 3 Desert Gold Stakes (1600m) and a fast-finishing third behind Dreamcrafter at Avondale. | Stephen Marsh | |
| 9 | Vencedora | 7 | Taranaki filly Vencedora (NZ) (Ekraar) has won one of her six starts and in her most recent appearance finished fourth in the Listed Oaks Prelude (1800m) at her home track. | John Wheeler | Trudy Thornton |
| 10 | Dreams Of Paris | 6 | Dream Ahead filly Dreams Of Paris was a maiden winner at Taupo in late December. Things went wrong for her when she finished 14th in the Desert Gold Stakes, but she bounced back with a strong-finishing fourth at Avondale. | Danica Guy | |
| 11 | Madam Woo | 2 | Fastnet Rock filly Madam Woo has yet to win in six career starts, but she has placed in three of them and has never been further back than sixth. In December she ran second to Sacred Shot (NZ) (Savabeel), who went on to place in the $100,000 Windsor Park Karaka Stayers Cup (2200) and is considered one of New Zealand's brightest staying prospects. | Peter & Dawn Williams |