Quality sprinter Rope Them In produced his trademark first up burst of acceleration to claim a second stakes victory in a thrilling finish to the Listed RS Crawford Stakes (1200m) at Ascot.
Steve Wolfe's son of WA champion sire Playing God did it the hard way too - the five year old was a drifter in betting and missed the start, giving his rivals in the 1200m dash a big head start - as well as giving all but one of them weight.
Punters had settled on Dan Morton's smart mare Super Smink (Super One) as their firm favourite.
Resuming from an unsuccessful hit and run Autumn mission to Victoria - where she took on the cream in the G1 Orr and Futurity Stakes - the now five year old Super Smink won the Karrakatta/Sires double as a juvenile and she showed her superior class with a brave third in the G1 Railway Stakes last year.
Backed late was dual stakes winner London's Image (Headwater).
Placed in a Listed race at Moonee Valley last summer when trained by Ryan Hill, the talented mare was resuming for her new stable of Grant and Alana Williams and had Lucy Fiore aboard.
Toronado mare and reigning The Joey heroine Twain's Angel rarely runs a bad race and has a great Ascot record. Second up after a slashing fourth in the Golden Saddle, she had a fitness edge and plenty of admirers!
Despite a welcome return to form in Kalgoorlie, Luke Fernie's Man Crush (Manhattan Rain) was friendless as was topweight Bustler (Playing God).
100/1 shot Norich (Demerit) knows only one speed - and that's full bore! When the field of 12 runners jumped he flew to the lead under Laqdar Ramoly, and as expected the pair set up a cracking pace.
Man Crush was up there early with bolter Crippalenko (Maschino), and Willie Pike also sent Storyville (Overshare) forward.
London’s Image dropped in for a perfect run on the rail and Super Smink with Chris Parnham piloting found herself out the back.
As the race progressed at speed Rope Them In and Sean McGruddy snuck their way a little closer to midfield.
Heads turned for home and Norich didn't know he was a 100/1 shot - he was in for the fight!
Norich and Ramoly were rocketing to the line and it looked like a boilover was in the offing until London's Image was produced at the perfect moment to make her claim.
From the rear Super Smink was motoring into contention and Rope Them In had launched his run - but was it too late?
London's Image had hit the front near the post from brave Norich and was hailed the winner, until Rope Them In burst through to overhaul her in the very last stride!
He won by a head from London's Image with Super Smink a neck away in third.
Rope Them In's trainer Steve Wolfe gave a disarmingly honest interview after the race.
“I was pretty confident coming in but when the gates opened I won't tell you what I said” he joked.
“He is a good horse. I never had him right last prep. He's about 80% fit now. Whether we go for the Winterbottom or the Railway I'm not sure yet.
"The horse will make his mind up where he wants to be. He’s a really good horse, and its lovely to get him back.
The spring last year, it was a bit too much for him. He puts so much in. I don't think he recovered in the autumn - in my heart I knew he was five or six lengths below his best. He’s back, and if we can look after him, he'll be right.”
A $60,000 purchase for Commercial Bloodstock Services P/L (FBAA) from the Willaview Park draft at the 2022 MM Perth Yearling Sale, Rope Them In advances his record to nine wins, three seconds, and a third from 21 starts with earnings of well over $1.2 million.
This was his first stakes victory since taking the G3 Colonel Reeves Stakes, before running an outstanding race for fourth in the G1 Winterbottom.
His dam Lead Rope (Real Jester) won six races and is now retired from breeding.
Rope Them In, her only foal by Playing God, is by far the best of her four winners.
Lead Rope's final foal is a Maschino gelding named Sign Of The Times - now two, he was a $100,000 Perth MM buy for Steve Wolfe in 2025.
Lead Rope's dam Gay Abandon (Jugah) is a half-sister to Vainquer, the dam of classy performer Tom’s Six (by Playing God's sire Blackfriars) - his wins included the Listed WATC All Stars Stakes, Belgravia Stakes, Fairetha Stakes and Ngawyni Stakes.
Rope Them In is bred
Northern Dancer 5m x 4m
Biscay x 5f,5m sex balanced.
His dam’s sex balanced lines of Star Kingdom's great son Biscay complement he two lines to Star Kingdom daughters and son Todman carried by Playing God’s dam.
Rope Them In is linebred to the great broodmare sire Seventh Hussar, and to Djebel and his sons Djeddah, My Babu, and Hugh Lupus.
Rope Them In is the first stakeswinner of the 25/26 season for his champion sire Playing God and there will be plenty more to come!
WA’s supersire Playing God stands at Darling View Thoroughbreds at a fee of $49,500.
