Fillies Contest Eight Carat Classic

A field of 11 of the country's smartest three-year-old fillies is set to contest the fifth leg of the prestigious New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series at Ellerslie on Boxing Day: the Group 2 $120,000 Cambridge Stud Eight Carat Classic (1600m).

Current $3.80 favourite is Velvet and Satin (Carnegie x Romanee Conti) trained by Jim Gibbs for owners Peter and Philip Vela. The three-year-old maiden has three seconds and a third from her four starts, including a Group 1 placing behind Dorabella and Princess Coup in the New Zealand Bloodstock 1000 Guineas.

Group 1 winner and current Filly of the Year Series leader, Dorabella (Postponed x Caserio), will be lining up for Howie and Lorraine Mathews with Leith Innes aboard, while leading trainer Mark Walker has two chances in the race with the Group 1 placed Princess Coup (Encosta De Lago x Stoneyfell Road) and Soelin (Stravinsky x Solano).

The winner of all three of her starts this season, Veloce Bella (Volksraad x Wave to Lottie)  looks a top contender for the race's eight Filly of the Year points. Ridden by Jim Collett for Mark Brosnan she has also drawn well at barrier 3.

The Lance Noble trained Irlanda (O'Reilly x Cenphic) is the latest filly to get Series points on the board with a last start win in the Group 3 Ezibuy Eulogy Stakes on 16 December. With three wins and a second from just four starts this season this talented filly is also a winner over this distance. 

Rounding off the field are Trudy Tee (Chief Bearhart x Nagala), Post Thyme (Postponed x Cardamom), Post Romance (Postponed x Pretty Wicked), Top Gear (Bertolini x Top Hit) and Shortblackmini (Black Minnaloushe x Miss Opera).

The winner of this race last year was 2006 Filly of the Year Series winner, Shikoba. The winner of this year's Boxing Day Group 2 event will earn eight points, with the placegetters earning four points and two points for second and third. Click here for the up-to-date Filly of the Year Series race schedule and current leaderboard.