Fillies Vie for Ethereal Stakes Glory

New Zealand Bloodstock’s sponsorship at Caulfield continues this weekend with the running of the Listed Ethereal Stakes for three-year-old fillies over 2000m, following on from the highly successful NZB Spring WFA Championship that concluded last weekend.

Ethereal (NZ) winning the 2001 Melbourne Cup.

The Ethereal Stakes is named in honour of NZ champion racemare Ethereal (NZ) (Rhythm) who took out the Group 1 Caulfield Cup in the colours of Pencarrow Stud at this very race meeting in 2001.

Bred and raced by Peter & Philip Vela, the daughter of Rhythm is best known as the last horse to complete the revered Caulfield/Melbourne Cup double. She was a four-time Group 1 winner which also included victories in the Queensland Oaks and BMW Stakes, earning just under A$5 million in prizemoney.

This year will see 12 fillies line up in the Ethereal Stakes, a traditional lead-in race to the VRC Oaks run at Flemington on 7 November with all of the fillies in Saturday’s race holding a nomination for that Group 1 feature.

At the top of the race card is Lady Lakshmi (Lonhro), a winner of three races from her nine career starts. The daughter of Lonhro has topweight in the race and has the services of leading jockey Dwayne Dunn.

Sydney trainer David Vandyke travels down with his well-credentialed filly Arabian Gold (Dubawi). Owned by Nick Moraitis, who tasted success on this day with Might and Power in the 1997 Caulfield Cup, the early race favourite has won half of her eight starts and has been beaten by boom filly Guelph at her last two raceday appearances.

The Matthew Ellerton/Simon Zahra trained Solicit (Street Cry) comes into the race having won two races from four starts including at Moonee Valley two starts ago. Owned by David Moodie’s Contract Racing, she was last seen running third in the Group 2 Edward Manifold Stakes at Flemington and has the services of Glen Boss.

The second placegetter in the Group 2 Edward Manifold Stakes was Star Fashion (Street Cry), trained by David Hayes. The filly by Street Cry is still a maiden but has run second twice in black-type races and beat home race rival Solicit last start. She will be ridden top apprentice Chad Schofield and has drawn well in barrier three.

Peter Moody has two runners entered in the race with Quest for Peace (Hard Spun) and Akagera (Northern Meteor). Bred and raced by Stuart Ramsay, Quest for Peace is the winner of one race and will be ridden by Michael Walker from the outside barrier. Akagera broke her maiden at her last and is by hot young sire Northern Meteor. She has the services of stable jockey Luke Nolen on Saturday.

Another to come through the Group 2 Edward Manifold Stakes is the Robert Smerdon trained Every Faith (Not a Single Doubt). The winner of one race from six starts, the Not a Single Doubt filly finished mid-field in the Edward Manifold Stakes, beaten just over 2.5 lengths.

Fourth in the Edward Manifold Stakes was Fantome Gris (Sebring). It was an eye-catching run from the Sebring filly that was last at the 400m and flew home down the outside to be beaten less than 2 lengths and gave the indication more ground will suit the maiden filly.

The lightly tried Up the Ladder (Ready’s Image) comes into the race having won and being placed twice from her three career starts. She comes into the city for the first time to contest Saturday’s Listed event with leading jockey Michael Rodd aboard.

Coming into the race at only her third career start is the Anthony Cummings trained Brewing (Purrealist). A last winner at Ballarat, the filly by Purrealist will be ridden by leading jockey Nash Rawiller from barrier nine.

Another last start winner is Melaleuca (Stratum) for trainers Terry & Karina O’Sullivan. The Stratum filly was a winner at Ballarat at the beginning of the month when ridden by Nicholas Hall who will partner the filly once again on Saturday.

The final horse in the field is the Newhaven Stud owned Refer (Fastnet Rock) trained by Clarry Conners. She is by champion sire Fastnet Rock and is held in high regard by her trainer with her last start coming in the Group 1 Flight Stakes behind Guelph despite still being a maiden.

Last season saw David Hayes take out the Ethereal Stakes with the talented filly Alzora, who broke her maiden status in the race and went on to win the Group 3 Vanity Stakes earlier this year.

The full field can be viewed by clicking here, with the race set to jump at Caulfield at 1.25pm AEST.