Lady Gets the Group One Prize
8 March 2007
Five-year-old mare Prize Lady (Prized x Pen Bal Lady) caused a minor upset yesterday when she took out the Group 1 NZ$700,000 SKYCITY Auckland Cup (3200m) at Ellerslie.
Singapore premiership-winning rider Mark du Plessis placed the mare mid-field from her wide barrier draw until she produced a strong sprint from near the 200m mark.
Last year's winner and pre-race favourite Pentane (Pentire x Tuff One) impressed the large on-course crowd - who had braved the inclement weather conditions - with his explosive sprint late in the home straight which secured him second place three-quarters-of-a-length behind the winner. The in-form Luckshan (Spectacular Love x Norfolk Shan) was just a head back in third.
Prize Lady has now won three races and been placed seven times from just seventeen starts and amassed over NZ$500,000 in prize money. She has proven a great investment for owner Joe Wallis, who purchased the filly from the Karaka Select Sale in 2003 for a mere NZ$13,500 from the draft of Fayette Park.
Prize Lady was bred by well-known South Auckland breeders Don and Rochelle McLaren, and is trained by the father and daughter training partnership of Graeme Sanders and Debbie Sweeney at Te Awamutu.
The mare showed plenty of ability as a three-year-old scoring a second in the Group 1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) behind subsequent New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series winner (She's) Justa Tad (Istidaad x Infinity) and a fourth in the Group 1 Queensland Oaks (2400m). Prize Lady's recent lead-up form had also been solid with a last start third behind Luckshan in the SKYCITY Auckland Cup Prelude (2400m) last month at Ellerslie.