Crowned Australia’s Leading First Season Sire last season, Vinery Stud’s Ole Kirk has kept the momentum going, recording his first elite level winner as the Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman trained 3yo filly Ole Dancer got the better of the favourite to win the $1.5m Group 1 MRC Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield.
Kicking off her career with a win in the Magic Millions SA 2YO Classic at Murray Bridge back in March, the filly took out her second race in as many starts, scoring at Sandown in the final few days of her 2yo season.
Resuming in the Listed MVRC Atlantic Jewel Stakes, the filly then finished a narrow second in the Group 2 MRC Thousand Guineas Prelude, and on Saturday jumped second favourite behind the dominant Sydney filly Apocalyptic, a last start winner of the Group 1 ATC Flight Stakes (1600m).
From barrier of five in the 12-horse field, jockey Blake Shinn jumped Ole Dancer away well from the gates and tracked Mark Zahra aboard Apocalyptic to the lead where the first and second favourites controlled the race.
With the South Australian trained filly Mating Call coming around the field to sit in third, Shinn was content to ensure he stayed within striking distance of the favourite as the pair maintained the one-two position.
Before the home turn, Shinn was starting to urge Ole Dancer along, while Zahra was still sitting pretty on his filly, while the third placed Getta Good Feeling was looking for room to start her run.
Going stride for stride down the straight, it wasn’t until the final 100m that Ole Dancer got her head in front, scoring by just shy or a half-length margin with three parts of a length back to Getta Good Feeling back in third.
Recording his 64th individual Group 1 winner, co-trainer Peter Moody was very thankful of Neil Werrett post-race.
“She’s a lovely filly,” said Moody. “We knew we were in for a very light spring because we'd lost most of our big guns, and this filly we weren’t disappointed in her last two runs, barriers had just brought around her demise.
“But, (we had) great respect for the Sydney filly. She just rose to the occasion and out toughed her.
“The other one might have had one too many, and maybe we had one not enough too, because I thought it was going to out tough us halfway down the straight.
“But she's a good quality filly, and thanks to Neil Werrett, what a day for him, he owns the stallion, he owns the mare, and he owns the racehorse with his great friends and family, Max Whitby and the Madden family.
“And obviously, a big part of the Black Caviar connection there as well, so it's all so special.”
Moody was content to leave the race tactic up to Shinn who had ridden the filly in all bar one of her starts.
“I just left it up to him (Shinn). We drew a barrier today. He said, 'What do you think I said, 'Well, you sat in the box seat in the 1,200m race here three runs ago, you're not going to drag back from that gate at a mile.
“We were probably all a little surprised the favourite took it up, but I was very happy when Blake was breathing down his throat because we didn't want him getting away on us.
“Tremendous, really tremendous, and great for Catherine, great for the staff, all the team. Big Will Holmes, our right-hand man here, and all the team that have been a part of it all the way through. It's been a wonderful ride, all our pre-trainers, spelling fans—it's good.
“For what looked a light spring, we've got a Group One at home, and at home for me, Caulfield. Big thanks to the team at Pakenham, tremendous job there, Cam Miller and his team. They give us every opportunity to train our horses.”
Capturing his 34th Group 1 victory, jockey Blake Shinn gave full credit to the gutsy filly.
“Full credit to the filly, big thrill to win this race today,” said Shinn.
“The ownership group, Neil Werrett, Colin Madden, Max Whitby, been long time supporters of mine. This has been the grand final all prep and it’s just great that when a plan comes off and you can win a Group One.
“Big thanks to Peter Moody and Kat, and the team, they’ve presented her in impeccable order today. It was an exciting race, a thrilling race for me to even ride in.
“Peter and Kat, you can just trust their horse’s fitness and when the pressure came on, she came to the fore. It was a great effort.”
In the run to the line, it was the first three around the turn that finished in the top three positions with the Werrett Bloodstock Pty Ltd, Whitby Bloodstock Pty Ltd and Madden Bloodstock-owned Ole Dancer taking her record to three wins from five starts with earnings of $1,156,300.
Purchased by Moody Racing from the draft of North at the Magic Millions yearling sale for $350,000, the Werrett Bloodstock-bred and part-owned filly is one of three winners, and first stakes winner, out of the two-time-winning Husson mare Dancers, herself a half-sister to the stakes placed Viennese Star.
Ole Dancer is from the family of Group 1 winners Redeiner, Snitzel, King Of Pop and today’s Group 3 Moonga Stakes winner Private Eye – a winner of $12.6m in earnings.
The filly is one of five stakes winner from the first crop of dual Group 1-winning Written Tycoon stallion Ole Kirk, who is standing the current season at a fee of $99,000 (in. GST).
