Hot favourite Wonderfully Made turned the Listed Ascot 1,000 Guineas into a one act affair yesterday and the talented filly has the upcoming WATC Oaks in her sights.
The Dan Morton trained daughter of WA's perennial supersire Playing God came to the race undefeated in two starts this prep and won her lead up by four and a half lengths over a mile at Ascot.
The step up to 1800m looked ideal for Wonderfully Made, having her second start in a black type event - the first being a spin around for experience in the Gimcrack Stakes last season.
A small field of seven Classic hopefuls contested the 1,000 Guineas with Neville Parnham's promising Maschino filly Masmelo ( a $3,000 Magic Millions Winter Yearling bargain buy!) Installed as second favourite
The imposing and stakes placed Admire Mars filly Admire Astra looks every bit a stayer in the making for Simon Miller, and she had her fans.
She went out at odds of 8/1 while the favourite's stablemate Monte Tremezzo ( Hellbent) and the Calyx filly Nature's Reckoning were others around the 10/1 mark.
It was a case of “write your own ticket” for roughies Aitch Montana (Dubious) and Final Flush ( Rommel)
The make up of the race was a lovely tribute to Arrowfield’s amazing little stallion Not A Single Doubt.
Though he doesn't feature in the winner's pedigree, he is the damsire of Admire Astra, Nature’s Reckoning and Monte Tremezzo - while his son Dubious sired Aitch Montana!
Not bad going in a field of seven in a key Oaks lead up race for the remarkable son of Redoute’s Choice.
The 1,000 Guineas field got away cleanly, and Rommel filly Final Flush showed the trademark early acceleration of her breed.
She landed in front - but not for long, because Admire Astra with Clint Johnston-Porter in the saddle was gliding across from the widest barrier to take up the running with a touch of arrogance.
The chestnut rolled along in front ears pricked, from roughies Final Flush and Aitch Montana.
Willie Pike had Wonderfully Made travelling comfortably behind the leaders on the outside of her stablemate Monte Tremezzo, ridden by Lucy Fiore.
Nature's Reckoning had dropped three lengths behind them and Masmelo was last.
At the 1200m Admire Astra came back nicely under Johnston-Porter for a little breather and the field obediently slowed behind her, waiting for the brakes to be released.
Coming up to the home turn Johnston-Porter said go! on the leader and the Admire Mars filly quickened gamely. Wonderfully Made was beautifully positioned to make her move, smoothly avoiding Final Flush and Monte Tremezzo who both abruptly ran out of gas at the top of the straight.
Everything behind the favourite was off the bit and working hard but Nature's Reckoning was finding a second wind and Masmelo was stoking up from last.
Admire Astra powered into the straight trying to pinch a break on them, but Pike and Wonderfully Made were in control - unleashing a perfectly timed run, even as Chris Parnham and Masmelo appeared on the scene in the closing stages!.
But the Playing God filly was too classy. A little shake up from Pike and she cruised past the tiring Admire Astra with Masmelo unable to mount a final challenge.
It was an easy two length win for Wonderfully Made in the end, from Masmelo and Admire Astra with Nature's Reckoning batting on for fourth.
Wonderfully Made completed a hat trick of wins and she remains undefeated as a three year old.
Her 1,000 Guineas victory was a fairly relaxed watch for trainer Dan Morton.
“It was nice to watch in the end. We were a little bit concerned about tactics early, but it couldn't have panned out any better for her.
"They steadied the tempo a little in front and made her sprint hard but she chased well, she was good, so onwards and upwards to the longer races.
We’ll just start to stretch her out a bit now work- wise before the next run (the 2200m Natasha Stakes in a fortnight). I'm really looking forward to the longer races with her.”
“We were lucky there were a couple of horses willing to take it up,” commented Willie The Wizard.
“It can be a bit tricky when they get out to these distances for the first time, so that was nice. She was still a little bit stop-start in the run.
"We can still improve her a little bit in those mannerisms, but she's a pretty nice filly. She felt like she did that well within herself. I did have to test her a bit off the bend, but it was a soft win through the line”.
The athletic and well named Wonderfully Made claims her first stakes victory at career start number six, and in doing so becomes the 26th stakes winner for Playing God.
She advances her record to six starts for three wins and two placings for $208,850 in the bank.
The filly was a $250,000 buy for her owners China Horse Club from the J Farms draft at Perth Magic Millions.
She is the second foal from her dam, the winning Trade Fair mare Precious Cargo, who has visited Playing God exclusively since her breeding career commenced.
Her first foal was filly Precious God, twice a winner in 13 starts.
Precious Cargo foaled a colt by Playing God in 2024 who sadly died after birth, then missed to him- but is now safely back in foal to the champion sire.
While Precious Cargo was a mile / middle distance winner her full sister Cool Trade was a talented and tough sprinter, winning the Listed Scenic Blast Stakes and placing in no less than nine stakes races up to 1400m in Perth for earnings in excess of $500,000.
She is the dam of the Ciaron Maher trained mare Keep Your Cool (Deep Field) - 6 wins and $400,000 in 21 starts.
Her latest offering, a Blue Point colt, was a $170,000 buy for Spicer Thoroughbreds from Mungrup Pty Ltd at the 2025 Perth Magic Millions.
Precious Cargo and Cool Trade were 2 of 8 winners from 10 to race from Around Jindabyne, a winning daughter of the G1 Doomben Cup hero Akhenaton by Snippets. He was a disappointing sire, but being by Snippets and out of a Marscay mare he sure has the bloodlines to show up on the dam's side of a good pedigree!
The dam of Around Jindabyne was the unraced Metal Storm daughter Degrade, dam of five winners which included the G3 Belmont Guineas placed Broome Time and stakes winning daughter Salisbury Street ( Blevic), who won the Listed Sheila Gwynne Stakes.
There is an abundance of staying prowess coming through this female line from the WA Champion Fillies heroine Polo Jane ( Ark Royal), a full sister to Royal Coral who won a Perth Cup and Geelong Cup.
The NZ bred Ark Royal ( Marco Polo II) was immortalised in one of Australian racing's most famous photos - he's the horse in the middle of the triple dead heat finish of the 1956 Hotham Handicap!
Ark Royal became a specialist sire of two-milers, with four Perth Cup winners and a runner up to his name.
Polo Jane became dam of the Perth / Brisbane Cup winner Muros and Polo Player, who won stakes races in Melbourne and Adelaide.
This family is a branch of 13-b which descends from Jennie, a star Western Australian broodmare of the 1950s/60s. She was a daughter of the great Magpie son Talking and won the 1948 WATC Guineas / Champion Fillies double.
Jennie produced four stakeswinners. Two of her daughters won the Bunbury Cup including Wonderfully Made's ancestress Countess Jane, while her son Renark won the Perth Cup.
Jennie was out of an imported French-bred mare descending from taproot mare Lady Sarah. This family is close to those of 13-a and 13-c, each of the three tribes tracing to daughters of Lady Moore Carew.
Wonderfully Made is bred
Danehill 3m x 4f sex balanced
A standout feature of her pedigree is the nick between her damline and that of Rubiton.
Both Rubiton and Precious Cargo descend from daughters of Talking, while Ark Royal's sire Marco Polo II is a half brother to Rubiton's grandsire My Babu. Akhenaton traces to a daughter of My Babu's son Duvidal and Metal Storm's sire Kenmare brings another son the influential Milesian - they are sex balanced by Playing God's line to Sir Tristram and his My Baby daughter.
With her third, fourth and sixth dams being by Grey Sovereign line sires and Snippets carrying a daughter, there is a powerful but not immediately obvious nick between Precious Cargo and Playing God's ancestress Versatile.
Versatile’s sire Pistol by mighty Carbine was a Champion Sire in South Australia and is related to Grey Sovereign's dam Kong, who carried another champion son of Musket, Martini-Henry. Pistol was bred x 2 to Carbine's ancestress Martha Lynne sex balanced via her son Voltigeur - and his is the male line of Kong's sire Achtoi.
It's packing a punch.
Wonderfully Made is linebred (sex balanced) to Star Kingdom,Petition ( including via Danzig's relation Pitcairn so a great nick for him) and to Aureole, Crepello, Sir Ivor, Relic, Bold Ruler, Beau Pere and the Nasrullah son Nearula who was a grandson of Blue Hen Orama - her more famous grandson Todman is carried by Rubiton.
Blue Hen Somethingroyal is an influence through her sons Secretariat and Sir Gaylord while Secretariat's daughter Seccretame is the dam of Gone West, picking up on the Bold Ruler son Taipan in Playing God.
Last year Playing God sired the WATC Oaks runner up Funchal and third placed Noahquintilly and this year could go one better.
The Ascot 1,000 Guineas is often won by the future Oaks heroine, and the Natasha Stakes will tell us more about Wonderfully Made. If her breeding is a true indication this talented filly will continue to blossom as her races increase in distance!
WA's champion sire Playing God stands at Darling View Thoroughbreds on a fee of $49,500
