Smart Southern Fillies Contest New Zealand Bloodstock Airfreight Stakes

The third leg of the coveted New Zealand Bloodstock Southern Filly of the Year Series will be contested at Riccarton Park this Monday. Fourteen of the mainland's most talented fillies will line up over 1600m in the New Zealand Bloodstock Airfreight Stakes - Listed.

The Shane Kennedy trained Classic Clare (Gold Brose x Funny Features) leads the series following her convincing last-start victory in the second leg. With 14 points she stands 11 points clear of her closest rivals, Clifton (Bahhare x Instantly) and Lady Libertine (Tuscany Flyer x Liberty Rose).

Clifton, who finished second to Classic Clare last start, will need to win the race to keep the series alive going into the final leg, the New Zealand Bloodstock Warstep Stakes. The Mike McCann trained filly will be ridden by Hayden Tinsley.

Mark Walker once again has a strong line-up with Heads or Tales (Tale of the Cat x Head of the River) who ran a promising third to Classic Clare last start. His impressive filly Spur Bird (Flying Spur x Auptag) will need to overcome a tough draw to figure in the finish.

Also well represented is the training partnership of Peter and Dawn Williams. The leading training team have Palais Jamai (Grand Lodge x Magdalena) and the unbeaten Uprize (Prized x Impossible Dream) running. Although Uprize is unable to accumulate enough points in the remaining two races to take the series outright she is no doubt a strong contender for both Monday's New Zealand Bloodstock Airfreight Stakes and the upcoming New Zealand Bloodstock Warstep Stakes.

Points will be awarded in Sunday's race with seven points for first, three for second and one for third. The Southern Filly of the Year crown will go to the filly with the most points at the end of the four races in the Series.

The field for Sunday's New Zealand Bloodstock Airfreight Stakes is:

1. 52271 Classic Clare (11)
2. 00302 Clifton (10)
3. 51033 Heads Or Tales (4)
4. 31441 Hi Yo Wassup (1)
5. 12518 Kims Coup (13)
6. 26107 Mixty Motion (8)
7. 01847 Palais Jamai (AUS) (3)
8. 51636 Peak Time (6)
9. 18237 Royal Dane (12)
10. 11135 Spur Bird (AUS) (14)
11. 17767 Tiffany (5)
12. 77480 Unearthed (2)
13. 11 Uprize (7)
14. 20140 Vilatte (9)

For more details on this or any race in the Southern Filly of the Year Series, please contact Julian Phillips at New Zealand Bloodstock (PH: (09) 2980055 FAX: (09) 298 0506).