Lowland Stakes Sets Up Epic Last Month of NZB Filly of the Year Series
28 February 2022
Just three weeks and three races remain in the 2021-22 New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series, with two black-type dress rehearsals this week ahead of the grand finale in the $400,000 Group One Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand Oaks (2400m) at Trentham on March 19. No filly has established a clear lead, leaving everything to play for as the series races towards an enthralling conclusion.
With eight of the 11 legs run, Belle En Rouge (NZ) (Burgundy) currently tops the table with 19 points. But her Jamie Richards-trained stablemate Self Obsession (NZ) (Shocking) is breathing down her neck with 16, and about to lodge her challenge.
Self Obsession will be out to add to her rapidly growing tally in Wednesday’s ninth leg – the $110,000 Group Two Little Avondale Lowland Stakes (2100m) at Hastings, which is worth a crucial 8 points to the winner. There are also 4 points for finishing second and 2 for third.
From only four career starts to date, Self Obsession has won three times including a Group Two double in the Royal Stakes (2000m) at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day and the David & Karyn Ellis Fillies’ Classic (2000m) at Te Rapa on February 12. The daughter of Melbourne Cup-winning stallion Shocking is the $2 favourite for the Lowland Stakes on Wednesday, and she also heads the market for the Oaks at $4.50.
Love Letter (NZ) (Wrote) is the only other runner in Wednesday’s field with points already to her name, collecting 1.5 for finishing third in the Group Three Desert Gold Stakes (1600m) at Trentham in late January. But when the 8 points from Wednesday’s race are added to a massive 12 for winning the Oaks a fortnight later, any filly could still launch a bold late bid for the title.
The Little Avondale Lowland Stakes will be run as Race 7 on Wednesday, with a start time of 6.08pm.
| # | HORSE | DRAW | COMMENTS | SALE | PURCHASER | TRAINER | JOCKEY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Self Obsession | 2 | Debuting with a third placing at Tauranga in late November, Self Obsession (NZ) (Shocking) has subsequently made a rapid rise through this season's three-year-old filly ranks. She has won all of her three starts since then, including the Group Two Royal Stakes (2000m) and Group Two David & Karyn Ellis Fillies' Classic (2000m). She sits in second place on the NZB Filly of the Year Series points table with 16 points, and she is the favourite for both this race and next month's Group One New Zealand Oaks (2400m). | Jamie Richards | |||
| 2 | Flash Mary | 10 | Flash Mary (NZ) (El Roca) cost less than $10,000 as a South Island Sale yearling and has earned more than $53,000 in stakes, winning two of her nine starts and placing in another three. She ran third in the Listed Ryder Stakes (1200m) as a two-year-old, and this season she has finished second in the Listed Trevor & Corallie Eagle Memorial (1500m) and fourth in the Group Two Eight Carat Classic (1600m). | 2020 South Island Sale | Bee Cee, $9,250 | Debbie Sweeney | Matthew Cameron |
| 3 | Superette | 5 | Passed in at Karaka 2020 with a $10,000 reserve, Superette (NZ) (Vadamos) looks an exciting racetrack prospect for her breeders and part-owners, Don and Dame Wendy Pye. She has had five starts for two impressive victories, plus a last-start second placing, and has earned $21,815. This is her first start at stakes level. | Karaka 2020, Book 3 | Psd, Res $10,000 | Stephen Marsh | Leith Innes |
| 4 | One Dream One Soul | 11 | Trained locally by Lee Somervell, One Dream One Soul (NZ) (Ekraar) has won two of her last three starts. Both of those victories came at this track, scoring by two and three-quarter lengths over 1600 metres on January 27, followed by a smart half-length win over the same distance on February 20. | Lee Somervell | |||
| 5 | Love Letter | 9 | Love Letter (NZ) (Wrote) has 1.5 points in the NZB Filly of the Year Series, courtesy of a third placing in the Group Three Desert Gold Stakes (1600m) at Trentham on January 29. She has had five starts overall for a win and three placings, and she was a last-start second at Hastings behind race rival One Dream One Soul (NZ) (Ekraar). | Guy Lowry & Grant Cullen | |||
| 6 | Aspen Colorado | 1 | Proisir filly Aspen Colorado (NZ) was outpaced in her first three starts over 1400, 1600 and 1800 metres, but it was a very different story when she stepped up to 2100 metres at Te Rapa on February 2. She charged home from the back to win with ease by almost two lengths, hinting at a bright future over staying distances. | Graham Richardson & Rogan Norvall | Ashvin Goindasamy | ||
| 7 | Great Plains | 6 | Bred and part-owned by Australia's Rosemont Stud, Great Plains (NZ) (Tarzino) was a winner at Rotorua in early January, followed by an unlucky last-start sixth in the Listed Oaks Prelude (1600m). | Karaka 2020, Book 1 | Rogerson Bloodstock, $40,000 | Team Rogerson | |
| 8 | Set In Stone | 3 | Set In Stone (NZ) (El Roca) has had eight starts to date, headed by a win over 1800 metres at New Plymouth on December 22. She was subsequently unplaced in the Group Two Royal Stakes (2000m), then resumed from a brief let-up with a solid fourth at Otaki last weekend. | Team Rogerson | |||
| 9 | Prioress | 8 | Awapuni filly Prioress (NZ) (Proisir) rarely runs a bad race, finishing fifth or better in five of her eight starts so far. She hasn't had much luck in recent starts, but was an impressive winner and two-time placegetter on her home track earlier this season. | Karaka 2020, Book 2 | Psd, Res $30,000 | Lisa Latta | Sarah Macnab |
| 10 | Illicit Miss | 7 | The stablemate of the favourite Self Obsession (NZ) (Shocking), up-and-comer Illicit Miss (Hinchinbrook) has shown promising signs in her four-start career. Sixth on debut at Tauranga in November, she has subsequently finished second at Pukekohe, Ellerslie and Te Rapa over increasing distances. | Karaka 2020, Book 1 | DC Ellis, $95,000 | Jamie Richards | |
| 11 | Another Bella | 4 | Another Bella (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle) has finished sixth, eighth and seventh in her three starts so far, the most recent in the Listed Oaks Prelude (1600m) at Pukekohe. | Danica Guy | Joe Kamaruddin |