We've emerged from the worst of winter, but Sydney's wettest spring in a couple of decades is going to ensure a squelchy track for Saturday's Royal Randwick meeting if it even goes ahead.
It will be a day for swimmers, but nothing can dampen the excitement of a new season!
A bevy of three year old fillies will brave the conditions in the G2 ATC Silver Shadow Stakes over 1200m. The first leg of the rich Darley Princess Series has attracted a great field this year and indeed it's been a great race since its inauguration in 1980.
The race is named in honour of the 1975 Warwick Stakes (now Winx Stakes) winning filly Silver Shadow and is run at the same meeting.
Only two fillies have won all four legs of the Princess Series - the Silver Shadow, Furious, Tea Rose and Flight Stakes - the latter run at G1 level over the famous Randwick mile.
They were Noel Mayfield Smith's memorable grey Angst in 1993, and Kris Lees’ champion Samantha Miss in 2008.
Proven talents Within The Law (Lucky Vega), Memo (Capitalist) and Savvy Hallie (Hellbent) take on the favourite Agarwood (Wootton Bassett) who bids to be anything - with plenty of up and comers out to cause an upset as we kick off the 2025 series!
Top Tip: WITHIN THE LAW
Bjorn Baker's G2 Sweet Embrace Stakes winner of last season is set to blossom at three and though she has never raced on heavy ground, she is bred to relish it!
Within The Law follows a remarkable theme as the latest bargain buy for Scott Darby and Darby Racing from the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.
She was a $30,000 purchase for the team at the 2024 sale from the Yulong draft.
Previous Classic purchase Yankee Rose was picked up in 2015 for a paltry $10,000 and almost caused a boilover when second in the Golden Slipper to Capitalist before taking the G1 Sires and returning at three to beat the boys in the G1 Spring Champion and run third to Winx in the Cox Plate. Sold for an undisclosed sum to Japan, Yankee Rose is now a G1 producer and one of the most valuable broodmares on the planet!
She Will Reign was purchased the following year in 2016 for just $20,000! and went on to win the Golden Slipper and Moir Stakes.
Within The Law lost her rider in the Slipper so we'll never know what might have been, but her lead up form lacked for nothing. She had won the Sweet Embrace after two wins and a second at Listed level. After the Slipper mishap she was third in the G2 Percy Sykes and a brave second to boom colt Nepotism in the G1 ATC Champagne when stepped up to a mile.
There is everything to like about her pedigree in terms of her training on at three. She's out of a Dundeel mare, say no more in terms of Classic genetics! She is the first foal from her dam, the placed Contract Signed.
Within The Law is a member of the famed Denise's Joy family. Her second dam So Much Joy (Red Ransom) was a 1200m winner and three quarter sister to stakes placed Prix du Sang.
Her third dam is the dual G2 winning Brief Truce mare So Gorgeous, producer of champion UAE sprinter Sterling City (Nadeem) and G2 winner Tipungwuti (Fusaichi Pegasus) among her five winners.
This is the immediate family of stakes winners Wild Queen and her daughter Varda, plus G1 Randwick Guineas winner Kementari, G1 performer Telperion and G1 AJC Champagne Stakes winner Euphoria.
Last year's runner up in this race Silmarillion is a close relative of Within The Law.
The filly's fourth dam Crowned Jewel by Bletchingly is a three quarter sister to Christmas Spirit and many topliners belong to this branch of the Denise’s Joy tribe, notably champion racehorse and sire Thorn Park. Within The Law's dam is bred on the great nick this family forged with Zabeel.
Her sire Lucky Vega has made a good start to his stud career. The G1 winning son of Lope De Vega was twice Classic placed at three and is out of a Cape Cross mare - the same cross as Caulfield Cup hero and WFA star Duke De Sessa.
Notably Within The Law closely replicates the breeding of Dundeel’s 3 x G1 winning son Militarize, who is out of a half sister to Lucky Vega.
Within The Law is bred:
Machiavellian 5f,5m x
Irish River 5f x 5m
Irish River by Riverman was the best French racehorse of his generation up to a mile. He was a descendant of the mare Black Brook, a half sister to the breedshaper Turn-To - and out of a Klairon mare.
Thus he's an important inbreeding subject here as he sex balances and/or reinforces lines to Riverman, Halo, Sir Ivor, Klairon and to daughters of Riverman's sire Never Bend. Dundeel brings a key tail male line of Riverman through Darshaan.
Though she's never raced on worse than a soft 5, Within The Law has trialled well on heavy and she is bred to sprout flippers on wet ground!
She loves Randwick and has plenty of speed, but with the stamina that will be required to finish off strong up the rise. She does get back - but regular jock Jason Collett can have this powerful filly in striking range at the right time. 57kg isn't too scary an impost, and she has earned it!
Next best: AGARWOOD
Agarwood is a flying machine and the unbeaten daughter of Wootton Bassett will start favourite - she was on top for me until the biblical deluge arrived. Not that she isn't bred to handle the ground as she well and truly is, and it won't be a surprise if she leads and just keeps on going - but I'm slightly leaning towards her more seasoned rival.
A $420,000 purchase for Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott / Kestrel Thoroughbreds at the 2024 Inglis Easter Sale from the Coolmore draft, Agarwood was the subject of last week's Breeding To Win story and for an in depth look at her pedigree click here.
At her two racetrack appearances nothing else has had a look in and the same goes for her trial wins, which have been effortless. She's won on a heavy 9 at this track and trip, and you know that fitness will be where it needs to be from this stable!
Agarwood is bred:
Northern Dancer 5m x 5m
Danzig 5m x 4m
Agarwood tackles stakes class for the first time and for all the buzz around her, she has to come out and perform here, but it's a pretty safe bet she will. She has a weight advantage on the top two - Tim Clark will try to control the race. Can she dominate again?
Roughie: WOOTTON LASS
This John Sargent trained daughter of Wootton Bassett was a $375,000 buy for the Laguna Partnership /Sargent at the 2024 MM Gold Coast Yearling from the draft of Yarraman Park.
It was obvious she wasn't a precocious type in her three juvenile starts, but she won at 1100m having pulled up lame on debut. She's ready to go now after two excellent trials, the latest a win on heavy 9 here.
Wootton Lass is the first foal from the winning Fastnet Rock mare The Natural, and is a member of one of New Zealand's most respected families.
Her dam is a half sister to the dual G1 winner Fiveandahalfstar (VRC Derby / The BMW ) and full sister to the dam of G1 Spring Champion Stakes winner El Castello.
Their dam Cryptic Miss by Snippets was the only foal of the mare Cross Words - a full sister by Grosvenor to Sydney Cup winner Cross Swords - who died by lightning strike leaving her sole daughter.
The stand-out name on this damline is Soliloquy, by the great Sobig, from the elite producer Princess Patine (Pakistan II)
Soliloquy was one of her three stakes winners, and a G1 winner at 1400m.
G1 winners descending from Soliloquy apart from those listed above include ATC Derby winner Jon Snow ( by Wootton Bassett's sire Iffraaj), Gallic (Sydney Cup) and NZ Oaks winner Savaria.
G1 winning sprinter miler mares Culminate, Eileen Dubh and Captivate all descend from Soliloquy.
Her best racing daughter was 3 x G1 winner Solveig. Wootton Lass descends from Solveig's stakes winning half sister Quibble, by the Bold Ruler son Ruling.
Fillies from this family are quite hard to get hold of. The family goes back to Miss Kate GB 1873.
The legendary Sunline traces to her (through Phar Lap's dam Entreaty!)
Wootton Lass is bred:
Northern Dancer 5m x 5m, Danzig 5m x 4m
Two lines to Sir Tristram through her dam duplicate Princequillo's daughter Somethingroyal carried by Wootton Bassett, and bring the male line of that great sire through Round Table. This is a proven nick with Wootton Bassett reinforced here by a line of Aureole and Fastnet Rock himself, all these sires belonging to the family (2-f) of Wootton Basset's grandsire Zafonic.
Nijinsky meets up with his three quarter brother The Minstrel and linebreeding for speed through daughters of Grey Sovereign and through Bold Ruler also feature.
On breeding, Wootton Lass should revel in the heavy conditions. She led when she won at her second start - so Zac Lloyd might send her forward and aim to get a nice sit in behind Agarwood.
Blowout: CHANGE MY ADDRESS
Another runner representing the master filly trainer John Sargent.
This girl was a cheapie, failing to make her $30k reserve at the 2024 MM Gold Coast when presented by Riversdale, and was purchased privately by Sargent online.
Change My Address was a $15,000 Inglis Weanling purchase from Sledmere Stud before she was re-offered as a yearling.
Bred by Rifa Mustang, the Exceedance filly is the first foal of Liberata, a winning half-sister by Sebring to G2 VRC Matriarch Stakes winner Jessy Belle.
Sebring is well established as a top tier broodmare sire and Exceedance has made an excellent start to his stud career. The G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes winning son of Exceed And Excel and the elite producing Thorn Park mare Bonnie Mac had blistering speed, twice defeating superstar Bivouac.
Notably Exceedance had a stakes winning half sister by Sebring.
His dual G3 winning speedster Dublin Down has Elusive Quality as a second damsire as does Change My Address, while that sire also appears in his classy son Swiftfalcon.
Interestingly, the astute Sargent had earmarked this filly as one he particularly liked at the pre-sale parades.
Change My Address zoomed through Heavy 10 conditions on debut at Warwick Farm when she won over 1100m, then was sent to the paddock after an indifferent second up showing.
The wetter the better for her with both sire and dam bred to be mudlarks of the highest order!
Change My Address is bred:
Northern Dancer 5m, 5m x
Danehill 3m x 5m
Bluebird 5f x 4f
Her second dam Unconditional Love by Elusive Quality has had six to race and win from eight foals.
Jessy Belle (Rock Of Gibraltar) was her best by far, with multiple G2 placings as well as her Matriarch Stakes victory.
Third dam is the champion Bluebird daughter Flitter, a G1 winner of the Doomben 10,000 and STC Winfield (Coolmore) Classic. She and her daughters have been successful producers - notably the classy G2 winner Ringadingding was by Sebring out of Flitter's grand daughter Maybe I.
Change My Address hails from the same female line as champion mare Probabeel which goes back to the 1897 VRC Oaks winner Elusive.
While Danehill was bred x 2 to Almahmoud, Bluebird is bred x 2 sex balanced to her sire Mahmoud, to Bull Lea and to Princequillo (by Bull Lea's sire Prince Rose). This is a perfect fit for Exceed And Excel who carries the Bull Lea son Citation.
This pedigree also features strong linebreeding to Sir Ivor and his son Sir Gaylord, and to Sir Gaylord's speed son Habitat.
Expecting a bold showing from Change My Address - with Molly Bourke to steer from barrier 9, I think she can perform better than her odds suggest!
