Sakura Girl (NZ) Shines in Sunline Vase

The McKee family are long-standing sponsors of the penultimate leg of the New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series, but the 2023 edition of the $100,000 Group Three Sunline Vase (2100m) held particular significance for them.

Major renovation work at Ellerslie forced the race to be relocated this year to Te Rapa, which was the scene of two breathtaking Group One triumphs by the McKees’ legendary mare Sunline (NZ) (Desert Sun), who has the Sunline Vase named in her honour.

Secondly, the McKees also have a connection to this year’s Vase winner Sakura Girl (NZ) (Iffraaj). Stephen McKee trained the filly’s dam Soltina (NZ) (O’Reilly), who recorded a win and two placings from an eight-start career on the racetrack.

“I trained Sakura Girl’s mother, and I’d mentioned to a few people before today that I thought this filly might be a bit better than her mother,” McKee said during the post-race presentation. “I think she’s proven that point today.”

Descending from the Moore family’s esteemed Soliloquy (NZ) (Sobig) family, Sakura Girl was a $260,000 purchase from the 2021 Ready to Run Sale.

Sakura Girl was a debut winner at New Plymouth in late October for her Cambridge trainer Ben Foote, then stepped into stakes company and finished sixth in the Group Three Eulogy Stakes (1600m), fifth in the Group Two Royal Stakes (2000m) and second in the Group Two David & Karyn Ellis Fillies’ Classic (2000m).

She took a big step forward on Saturday, dominating the Sunline Vase from the front and keeping up a strong gallop all the way to the line to score an authoritative victory by a length and a half over Sedaka (NZ) (Savabeel) and Marvelouz (NZ) (Almanzor).

“It’s never that easy, but she is just a beautiful filly,” Foote said. “We thought she had improved of late, and we were pretty confident going into the race.

“She has an outstanding attitude, and although it would have been good with some cover, we wanted to be positive and take bad luck out of the equation.”

Sakura Girl now has 10 points in the New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series, which puts her in fourth place on the table behind Legarto (NZ) (Proisir), Polygon (NZ) (Highly Recommended) and Best Seller (NZ) (Wrote).

Foote is now looking forward to a shot at the final leg of the series, the Group One Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand Oaks (2400m) at Trentham on March 18, which is worth another 12 points to the winner.

“I think she will lap up the 2400 metres at Trentham,” Foote said. “I think she is in the top echelon, so we are really looking forward to the Oaks.”

Vendor	Riverrock Farm
Purchaser	Upper Bloodstock (Hong Kong)
Breeding	Iffraaj – Soltina
Sale	Lot 308, 2021 Ready to Run Sale, $260,000
Bred by	D E & R W E Moore