Go Racing and Thoroughbred News
No fear about smart filly coping with more ground
A future Classic campaign has already been tabled for promising filly So Fear who will close out her two-year-old preparation at Te Rapa.
The in-form youngster will be given a break following Saturday’s Listed Waikato Equine Centre Veterinary Stakes (1400m), with expectations high that she can sign off with another bold showing.
“We’ve always had this race in mind to get her up over a bit further, I don’t think the trip will be any trouble at all for her,” trainer Stephen Marsh said.
So Fear is also expected to prove equally effective over more ground next season with her demeanour instilling further confidence.
“She’s got a remarkable temperament, which is great, she just does everything so well and she’s always been laid back and comfortable in her work,” Marsh said.
“All going well, she’ll be on a 1000 Guineas (Gr.1, 1600m) path in the spring when I’m sure she’ll run a mile without a worry.”
So Fear was unbeaten in her first two appearances at Wanganui and Pukekohe when racing on the speed before she came from last to place in the Listed Star Way Stakes (1200m) at Ellerslie.
“She’s got a good record, three starts for two very good two wins and her third the other day was a great effort,” Marsh said.
“From a bad gate, she got well back and hit the line strongly and has gone ahead since.”
So Fear is a sister to Codigo, who Marsh prepared to win the Listed Wellesley Stakes (1100m) and also trained their sire Ardrossan to claim top honours in the 2017 Waikato Equine Centre Veterinary Stakes.
Courtney Barnes will continue her association with So Fear on Saturday while Michael McNab will be aboard stablemate Bourbon Time, who has placed once from three appearances.
“She’s got plenty of ability but is still new and green and hence the reason the side winkers have gone on, but So Fear is very much on top,” Marsh said.
“Both fillies will go straight to the paddock after this for deserved spells.”
Marsh will have a big team engaged at Te Rapa and urged punters not to drop off Financier when he runs in the PGG Wrightson Grain Handicap Mile (1600m).
He has been close to the major players in his last two outings and the step up to 1600m will be ideal for the Tavistock six-year-old.
“He’s taken a little while to get back to where he needs to be and up to a mile with the blinkers on, I think he can really turn his form around,” Marsh said.
Of his runners at Pukekohe on Friday, he believed his best prospects will come early in the proceedings.
“I really like Sweet Disposition, he’s going great and both him and The Glamorous One are well-placed at a mile, and with McNab on both they will be good chances,” Marsh said.
Sweet Disposition (race three) and The Glamorous One (race two) will step out in divisions of the Show By Skycity 1600.
- By Paul Vetisse, LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
Photo: So Fear will contest the Listed Waikato Equine Centre Veterinary Stakes (1400m) at Te Rapa on Saturday.
Image: Jane Davidson (Race Images)
Familiar partnership go back-to-back in Star Way Stakes
Trainer Stephen Marsh and syndicator Go Racing made it back-to-back wins in the Listed SkyCity Star Way Stakes (1200m) at Ellerslie on Saturday when Miss Janet took out the juvenile feature.
The partnership won last year’s edition with Little Black Dress and they went into this year’s race with a pair of quality fillies to defend their crown in Miss Janet and So Fear, with the former having placed on debut at Matamata last month, while the latter was undefeated in her first two outings.
Miss Janet showed plenty of early speed from her ace draw to maintain her advantage on the fence and took up the pacemaker role.
She took a stranglehold of the race upfront and looked the winner a long way out, running out a comfortable 1-3/4 length winner, with stablemate So Fear running home well to secure black-type in third.
“We were able to execute early and she showed a good bit of ability,” winning jockey Michael McNab said.
“Across the top she just had her ears pricked and she felt like she was doing that speed very comfortably.
When I asked her to pick up just before we turned in, I didn’t think they would run her down off what she showed us the other day (when placing on debut).”
Marsh was pleased both of his fillies earned black-type and he said they will now head for a spell in preparation for a spring campaign geared towards the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton in November.
“Both were purchased by Go Racing and they are two nice fillies with good pedigrees and they have now got black-type, one at the thick end of it and the other third,” Marsh said.
“It is really nice to get black-type with those sorts of horses.
“She (Miss Janet) was unlucky at Matamata (on debut), she got her head into the other partition, missed the jump and did a lot wrong. Michael (McNab) got off and said ‘I don’t care where she is going, I will be riding her’.
“She is very good and in her two starts she should really be unbeaten.
“She has done a good enough job, we don’t need to step her up to 1400m. We will probably put her aside and set her for some good three-year-old races, but we think she is top-class and you could see the race was over a long way from home.”
By Home Affairs, Miss Janet is out of unraced Redoute’s Choice mare Janast, and she was purchased by Go Racing and Blandford Bloodstock out of Newgate Farm’s 2025 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale draft for A$170,000.
She has now won one and placed in one of her two starts to date and has earned just shy of $60,000 in prizemoney.
By Joshua Smith, LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
Miss Janet winning the Listed SkyCity Star Way Stakes (1200m). Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images)
