Black Caviar Lightning Stakes Day in review

Girls land trifecta in Black Caviar Lightning 

The Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning was expected to be fought out by the three-year-old colts, but the 1000m dash up the Flemington straight turned out an all-girl finish. 

The Chris Waller-trained Switzerland was a heavily backed $2.45 favourite to claim Saturday’s sprint with Growing Empire the second elect at $3.80. 

That pair went head-to-head but it was the girls who had last crack with devastating effect. 

In a blowout to punters, Skybird ($26) under John Allen raced a length win from Stretan Angel ($21) with Benedetta ($8.50) a further 1-¾ lengths away third, edging out Switzerland. 

Some of the pace was taken out of Saturday’s race with the scratchings of Mornington Glory and I Am Me, but Skybird relished the track conditions that had been downgraded to a Soft 7 after early race day rain. 

Skybird’s victory was trainer Mitchell Freedman’s second Group 1 success having prepared Attrition to claim the 2023 Toorak Handicap. 

Freedman had tossed up whether to run Skybird in Saturday’s Group 1 weight-for-age contest or wait a week for the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate (1100m) at Caulfield next Saturday. 

Having been tried over ground as a three-year-old, Freedman said Skybird will be kept to shorter trips from now on with the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m) at Flemington on March 8 her next likely option. 

“There are many factors that we can put into play that were telling us she’s a sprinter,” Freedman said. 

“Not only her gene tests, but a number of things she does at home. 

“We knew that she was flying. We’ve always thought that she’s a sprinter and we’d get back to these trips once she matured up and she knew what her job was. 

“There are three sprints in Melbourne she could run in, either this or the Oakleigh Plate into the Newmarket and then into the William Reid Stakes. 

“We’ll go down that path at this stage and then we’ve got Adelaide to back up on as well. 

“But we’ll make sure she pulls up well.” 

Skybird’s victory was the first at Group 1 level for her sire Exosphere who ran fourth behind Chautauqua in the Lightning in 2016. 

Allen broke a ‘barren spell’ of Group 1 victories on Skybird and admitted he had not expected the ease of Saturday’s victory. 

His most recent Group 1 victory came aboard Ruthless Dame in the 2023 Sangster Stakes at Morphettville. 

“I couldn’t believe how well I was going,” Allen said. 

“I was following Switzerland, and halfway up the straight I was going to stay on his back and try follow him through, but I was going that easy I just had to come off and try and find my own path. 

“She quickened up and put the race to bed very quickly. To be honest, from about the halfway she just felt like she couldn’t get beat.” 

“I had a bit of a barren spell in the Group 1s in the last couple of years, so it’s good to get one up the straight here at Flemington.” 

Colts share honours in Talindert 

The Lindsay Park team and the stable of Anthony and Sam Freedman shared the honours in the Listed Talindert Stakes (1100m) with both stables to consider Victoria’s richest two-year-old race at Caulfield next week. 

The Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) will come under consideration for the Ben, Will and J D Hayes-trained Shining Smile as it will for Tentyris after the judge could not split them at Flemington on Saturday. 

Daniel Stackhouse, aboard Shining Smile, fired in a protest against Tentyris, for alleged interference inside the final 50m, but after a long deliberation, Racing Victoria stewards dismissed the objection. 

Will Hayes, representing the Lindsay Park team, said the stable would have a round-table discussion on Monday before deciding on whether Shining Smile would back up into the Blue Diamond. 

“We will see how he pulls-up whether we go to the Blue Diamond or not,” Hayes said. 

If we decide against the Blue Diamond, we will make our way up north for a tilt at the Golden Slipper. 

“There are some nice lead-up races that will suit on the way to the Slipper.” 

The Group 1 Golden Slipper (1200m) will be run at Rosehill on March 22. 

Sam Freedman said Tentyris had turned his form around after running fifth behind stablemate Inkaruna on debut at Sandown two weeks ago. 

He said they tried a few different things to get him back into the frame of mind he was in when trialling before his debut performance. 

“He went over the hurdles a couple of times this week and it just kept his mind on the job here at the races,” Freedman said. 

“They’re still learning, but it’s just changing their routine up. 

“He responded really well but, importantly, today on race day, where the other day he was hard work, he was excellent, so he’s come a long way.” 

Freedman said he would chat with the Godolphin team about the Blue Diamond, but foremost in the trainer’s mind was how the colt pulls-up from Saturday’s shared victory. 

“We’ll let the dust settle and see how he pulls up,” Freedman said. 

“It’s a very different dynamic here down the straight where they amble up, so to go to a high pressure 1200 (metres) is a challenge but we’ll have a chat to the team and work it out.” 

Sepals looms as Guineas contender 

A failed vet test after being sold to Hong Kong after his maiden win could potentially pave the way to a Group 1 win in Australia for Sepals. 

Hong Kong agents came knocking after Sepals scored at Sale last month with more offers after he was successful at Sandown on January 29. 

But with vets knocking back the gelding for his future in Hong Kong, Sepals has remained in trainer Cliff Brown’s care at Mornington and is now the winner of the Group 3 C S Hayes Stakes (1400m) at Flemington on Saturday. 

Now the Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m) at Flemington on March 1 beckons for Sepals who firmed into $8 equal second favourite behind the $4 top elect Angel Capital. 

Ridden by Blake Shinn, Sepals ($7.50) registered an impressive 3-¼ length victory from Ndola ($18) with Feroce ($4.40) a neck away third in Saturday’s Guineas lead up. 

Stable representative Tony Lane said the team was unsure how Sepals would handle the downgraded track conditions. 

“He’s just gone ahead leaps and bounds in the last month-and-a-half and I don’t think the ceilings even there yet,” Lane said 

“But he’s always shown enough at home. 

“We raced his mum, What’s New, up in Singapore. She won two legs of the Triple Crown up there and was probably unlucky not to win the Derby up there as well.” 

Shinn was high in his praise for Sepals who was able to dominate the race and said Sepals handled the Soft 7 track impressively. 

“It was a dominant win,” Shinn said. 

“He had a lovely draw in barrier one, he switched off beautifully and everything presented for him, but he had to capitalise, and it was such an impressive win. 

“He paraded really, really well. He’s got a great mind and when I asked him to extend in the gap at 300 (metres), he really exploded well.” 

“A lot of these horses are probably a bit unknown on the ground, but he handled it really well.” 

Shinn said after capturing the C S Hayes Stakes, the Australian Guineas in two weeks’ time was a worthwhile race to have a shot at. 

“On that performance I guess you’ve got to have a throw at the stumps,” Shinn said. 

“We can all dare to dream he might be a Guineas winner.” 

The Lindsay Park team of Ben, Will and J D Hayes will have to wait another year in their bid to win the race named after their grandfather Colin Hayes with Ndola running a brave second from the widest draw.

All-Star Mile tilt for Dawn 

Rise At Dawn has won a start in the Group 1 All-Star Mile with his first-up win in the Listed The Elms Handicap (1400m). 

The Ben, Will and J D Hayes-trained four-year-old now has the enviable record of eight wins and two seconds from his 13 career starts. 

Rise At Dawn rose through grades last preparation registering three wins in succession then being spelled after a Stakes victory at Caulfield. 

The gelding took it to another level in his first-up victory on Saturday. 

“To resume at open level, 1400 (metres) at Flemington, there’s a lot of credit to that victory today,” Will Hayes said. 

Hayes added that it will be exciting to see two sets of Lindsay Park silks in the Group 1 All-Star Mile (1600m) at Flemington when Rise At Dawn joins Mr Brightside in the $2.5 million race. 

Arataki bounces back to winning form 

Wrote To Arataki registered her first win in just shy of 18 months when successful in the Group 3 Frances Tressady Stakes (1400m). 

The Matthew Williams-trained mare had a less than satisfactory spring campaign last year with the mare sent to another spelling property in a bid to revitalise her. 

In two runs for the campaign, Wrote to Aratki has shown some of her customary fight and jockey Dean Yendall said the rain that fell on Saturday suited the mare. 

“She went by the wayside and lost her way, but she had a little bit of an ocean break elsewhere and she obviously enjoyed it because she’s come back really good,” Yendall said. 

“She probably felt the track a little bit (first-up), being on the firmer side, and when that rain came, I thought that’d put her in it right up to her eyeballs. 

“She’s much happier in that situation on that going.” 

Williams was absent on Saturday, attending a family function in Port Fairy. 

Adelaide looms for Cilacap 

A Group 1 race in Adelaide looms as the target for Cilacap after her first-up victory in the Listed Desirable Stakes (1400m). 

Having her first start since winning on Caulfield Heath in mid-December, Cilacap added ‘Black Type’ to her future as a broodmare with her late closing victory. 

Cilacap closed out a two-state double for the Grahame Begg stable after Magic Time scored in the Expressway Stakes at Randwick. 

With Begg in Sydney, stable representative Rohan Hughes said the Group 1 Australasian Oaks (2000m) at Morphettville in April was the filly’s long-term aim. 

“She’s a big, raw filly with a lot of talent but very untapped,” Hughes said. 

“This was a good little test for her today and she came through with flying colours. 

“I think Grahame’s pretty keen to look towards possibly an Australasian Oaks, so she’ll go to a mile next start, and we’ll give her a little look there. 

“She’s certainly made a statement today so it’s pretty exciting for where she might get to.” 

Smokin’ Princess continues excellent form 

Smokin’ Princess has continued her unbeaten run through 2025 with victory in the All-Star Mile Owner Ambassador Trophy (1600m). 

While those on-course were sent running for cover at various stages early in the meeting, co-trainer Michelle Payne, who prepares the mare in partnership with brother Patrick, was not unhappy to see that rain, which downgraded the track from a Good 4 to a Slow 6 by the time Smokin’ Princess hit the track. 

“I think actually it was an advantage for her, she’s a big mare, so the give in the track would have been ideal for her,” Payne said. 

“She did have to overcome a wide barrier, though, and Tom (Prebble) did a really good job. 

“She’s giving us everything she’s got and going from strength to strength so we couldn’t be happier.” 

Now with the record nine wins and four minor placings from her 19 career starts, Payne said a Stakes race was the next likely option for Smokin’ Princess. 

“Who knows, we’ll see how she pulls up, get her home and try and place her as best we can,” Payne said. 

Bossy Nic excels up the straight 

The Tony and Calvin McEvoy stable has a lot of affection for Bossy Nic who showed her love of the Flemington straight and soft ground in taking out the Flemington Long Lunch (1200m). 

A winner over the course and distance at Stakes level at her second start, Bossy Nic has been a stable favourite for the McEvoy team. 

“We love this mare,” Calvin McEvoy said. 

“She won a Group race at her first start as a two-year-old with Dean Holland on board and she just grows a leg down the straight and grows a leg with a little bit of cut out of the ground. 

“She’s very valuable and we’ve got to thank Jen and Mark Hinkey and the whole crew, they’ve been very patient. 

“When you win a Group race with a filly at her second start and then it’s a little while between drinks, you’ve got to be patient. 

“But she’ll get back to that and Beau (Mertens) rode her confidently and she was there for him at the end.” 

McEvoy said upcoming Stakes races in Adelaide would be Bossy Nic’s upcoming program. 

Revelare continues winning ways 

The Robert Hickmott-trained Revelare has extended his winning streak to four with victory in the TAB We’re On (2000m). 

Saturday’s victory followed wins at Seymour and dual wins at Sandown, handing the gelding five wins and a second from seven career starts. 

Hickmott said the gelding’s autumn program was all about education for the future, adding a benchmark 84 race at Flemington over 2000m on March 1 could be on the agenda. 

“This is all about a seasoning preparation for him,” Hickmott said. 

“He hasn’t had a lot of racing, so we won’t be over-taxing him. 

“We’ll be mindful that he’s had a longish prep, and you don’t want to go to the paddock bottomed out, so we’ll just really assess him when he gets home and have a look at him throughout the week and see if there’s another one in him.”