Burgundy Filly Upsets Favourites in Airfreight Stakes

Media Release - Saturday April 15

Lightly raced filly Miss Layla produced a dogged performance to upstage the pre-post favourites when she claimed the Listed NZB Airfreight Stakes (1600m) at Riccarton at just her third lifetime start.

Miss Layla refuses to yield as she wins the Listed NZB Airfreight Stakes (1600m) at Riccarton Photo: Race Images South

The three-year-old daughter of Burgundy and former top racemare La Etoile had looked good winning in maiden company at Ashburton over 1400m earlier in the month but wasn’t expected to trouble some of the more fancied fillies in her first start in stakes company.

Nobody told Miss Layla that as she dominated from in front, setting up a steady speed before kicking strongly in the home straight.

Just as Cambridge visitor and race favourite Luella Cristina loomed up to win at the 200m, Miss Layla and rider Shankar Muniandy found again to deny her by half a length with the winner’s stablemate Madame Giselle finishing off strongly to produce a dream result for trainers Shane Kennedy and Anna Furlong.

Furlong was delighted with the performance by both fillies, although they will most likely follow separate paths in the near future.

“She (Miss Layla) travelled well the whole way and while she was the least experienced in the race, she does have a real touch of class,” Furlong said.

“She handled the puggy track quite well and has come a very long way in a short time.

“We actually don’t have any plans for her and it may be she has a break now, but we won’t decide that until we see how she pulls up.

“I also thought Madame Giselle also went a beauty as we wanted her ridden a little more positively and she has finished things off nicely.

Advertisement

“She was really only warming up at the finish, so she needs more ground.

“Depending on how she recovers she might back up in the Warstep Stakes (Listed, 2000m) here next weekend.”

Bred by the Skews Family Trust, who raced her dam La Etoile, Miss Layla was a $20,000 purchase by Robert Dennis out of the Kiltannon Stables draft during the Book 2 Yearling sale at Karaka in 2021.

Dennis prepared her in her early career before handing her on to Kennedy and Furlong when he decided to give full-time training away last year.

“Robert came to us and asked whether we would like to take a couple for him that he had been preparing,” Furlong said.

“We were more than happy to and it was obvious quite quickly that this one had a fair bit of ability, which she definitely showed today.”

Miss Layla’s dam La Etoile numbered the 2010 Gr.2 Rich Hill Mile (1600m) amongst her five career wins, while she was also placed at stakes level on a further four occasions, including finishing fourth behind Daffodil in the 2008 Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1000m). – NZ Racing Desk

Advertisment
More Reading...
Sires With Winners - Thursday May 29
Here is the full list of 41 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Sires Pack Profitable Punch at Weanling Sale
There are many members of New Zealand’s stallion ranks whose progenies racetrack results far exceed their service fee.  Next month’s NZB National Weanling Sale at Karaka is an ideal opportunity for traders and end users to secure the progeny of these creditable sires.
Little Avondale’s Weanlings Follow Successful Footsteps
Graduates of Little Avondale Stud’s drafts at the NZB National Weanling Sale have a proud record of racetrack success, and stud principal Sam Williams believes his class of 2025 compares favourably with previous years.
Breeding To Win - 2025 G1 Queensland Derby
It’s been 15 years since Dariana thumped the colts to win the Queensland Derby (2400m) in 2010 and maybe it’s time for another filly to triumph!
King’s Legacy Filly Wins by Three
The Lindsay Park team produced an impressive juvenile winner at Pakenham on Thursday evening with King’s Legacy filly Bella Pietra winning as she pleased.
Juvenile Trial Watch - Rosehill
Trials this morning at Rosehill were run on a heavy 9 so horses were well held together and not asked for too much, but there were still a couple of intriguing unraced heat winners by Extreme Choice and Justify (USA), plus we got another look at the $1.4million Wootton Bassett (GB) colt from Sunlight.
Debut Winner for King’s Legacy
King’s Legacy posted a seventh first crop winner on Friday with a fast finishing debut victory at Goulburn for talented gelding Nothing But Net.
Investing in Fillies Can Pay Big Dividends
We saw it earlier this month at Inglis Chairman’s Sale and we saw it again this week, purchasing yearling fillies that can perform to a high level has the potential to yield a big pay day in the sale ring, so let’s take a closer look.
Verry Exciting Weekend Looms
New Zealand horseman Nicholas Bishara will cross the Tasman this weekend to watch his filly Belle Detelle, a three-quarter sister to his ill-fated 11-time Group One Verry Elleegant, contest the Gr.1 Queensland Derby (2400m).
Expensive Ghaiyyath Colt Wins Stakes
Darley shuttler Ghaiyyath (IRE) had his first Australian winner earlier this week and overnight produced a new stakes-winner in the UK where Godolphin owned colt Opera Ballo won the Listed Heron Stakes (1m)at Sandown.