Already a Listed winner at 3 and 4, Grahame Begg’s Grunt mare Miraval Rose added her third black type victory to her record, winning the $300,000 Group 2 VRC Rose Of Kingston Stakes (1400m) in style at Flemington on Saturday.
Taken straight to the lead under Jordan Childs, the 5yo mare had Ciaron Maher’s Impending mare Running By sit on her outside, with Peter Snowden’s NSW visitor Tuileries (So You Think) tacking along in fourth place under Craig Williams.
Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr’s 4yo Fastnet Rock mare On Display had settled back in second last position, and with Miraval Rose controlling the race from the front, it was going to be hard for the race favourite to make up the ground needed.
As the turn was reached and Running By was starting to feel the pressure, Miraval Rose extended along the rails, and while Tuileries was hanging in ever so slightly, she was sticking on.
When Childs asked Miraval Rose for an effort at the 200m mark, she put the race away, going on to score by a length and a quarter from Tuileries, who doesn’t look far away from recording her own black type win.
Working home from back in the field for third was On Display, a half-length from the second placed Tuileries.
Stable rep Rohan Hughes spoke discussed the win post-race.
“Fantastic for the team. It is a great team effort,” enthused Hughes.
“Absolutely rapt for this mare because we always liked her.
“She never gets overrated by anyone. The key with her is getting on firm, dry ground. She loves that sort of ground.
“Grahame gave her a decent break. It is the first time she has had a decent break and she’s come back great. Her trials and three runs in, she’s flying.
“We went to Queensland with her after her first preparation and we were quite bullish with her but we kept running into wet tracks. It just stymies their preparation and they lose rhythm.
“She only had a short break before the next preparation but Grahame decided that we’d give her a really decent break.
Winning jockey Jordan Childs noted that it’s always hard to defeat in form mares.
“She’s a mare in form and today we were able to jump, use her speed and she got into a lovely rhythm,” said Childs.
“I was able to build into it when I wanted to and she was strong through the line.
“She’s a nice horse and continues to win races. The team has got her flying.
Doing a lot of work with the Begg stable, Childs is appreciative of the support.
“I do. I’m usually there on Monday morning at jump outs and Tuesday as well. I’ve good understanding of the horses. We all work well together and we get results.”
Taking her record to five wins and six placed efforts from 16 starts with earnings of $644,920, the Yulong bred Miraval Rose is the fifth winner from six to the races out of the Zabeel mare Gypsy Tucker.
A half-sister to the Group 2-winning, Group 1 placed Gypsy Diamond (Not A Single Doubt), who Yulong purchased from the 2018 Inglis Chairman’s Sale for $1.3m, having also purchased Gypsy Tucker for $800,000 at the very same sale.
It is also the family of the Group 1 placed Cafe Millenium (Not A Single Doubt), a winner of consecutive Listed races this season since his transfer to the stable of Ben, Will and JD Hayes.
Gypsy Tucker has had a slightly interrupted breeding career since foaling Miraval Rose, with the current 4yo named Hi Ho Gypsy (Grunt) being unraced, while she has an unnamed 2yo coly by Lucky Vega that was sold at this year’s Inglis Classic yearling sale for $200,000 to Western Australia’s Gangemi Racing Stables.
Gypsy Tucker is due to foal to Alabama Express this season.
Miraval Rose is one of seven stakes performers for Grunt, who is standing this sire at Yulong at a fee of $19,800 (inc. GST).
