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Brilliant filly Shoals scored her third Group 1 win of the season when steaming home to land the 2018 UBET Classic (Robert Sangster Stakes) over 1200m at Morphettville last Saturday.
Freshened and dropping back in distance since winning the Group 1 Surround Stakes (1400m) in Sydney two months earlier, Shoals unleashed an impressive turn of foot to sprint past a strong field of fillies and mares to win by almost two lengths.
Last year’s winner Secret Agenda also hit the line well for second with roughie Mica Lil third.Shoals, who also won the Myer Classic last spring, returned a career peak Timeform rating of 116 for her win.
That was the equal of Miracles of Life in 2015 with only Driefontein (118 in 2014) returning a higher figure since Black Caviar’s 128 performance in 2012.Connections are now considering a trip to Royal Ascot for Shoals but a tilt at The Everest next spring is also on the table.
Progressive filly Sopressa continued her rapid rise with a dominant win in the Group 1 2018 Schweppes Oaks (2000m) earlier on the program.
The daughter of So You Think hadn’t rated close to triple figures until scoring a runaway win in the traditional Oaks lead-up - the Group 3 Auraria Stakes – which netted her a Timeform figure of 105.Sopressa lifted that rating to 108 in the Oaks by defeating Sheezdashing and recent ATC Oaks placegetter Miss Admiration.
Sopressa’s rating was the equal of three of the previous four Oaks winners – Egg Tart (2017), Abbey Marie (2016) and May’s Dream (2014).Lights of Heaven (115 in 2011) and Delicacy (110 in 2015) are the only fillies to rate higher in the last 10 runnings.
Speedy filly Sprightly Lass added to her growing reputation with her second stakes win in the Group 3 DC McKay Stakes (1100m).
Sprightly Lass took her record to six wins and two seconds from eight starts and rated 110, just a point below her career high recorded when winning her previous outing in the Bel Esprit Stakes at Caulfield.Sprightly Lass became the highest rated DC McKay Stakes winner since Essay Raider returned 115 with his victory in 2014.
Group 1 winner Santa Ana Lane produced the highest rated performance in this year’s race, rating 115 by carrying 59.5kg into third place.Capable mare French Emotion made it two wins in a row when finishing strongly to win the Group 2 Queen Of The South Stakes (1600m).
Winner of a rich Vobis race at Caulfield at her previous start, French Emotion matched her career best Timeform rating of 109 when sweeping home to win in the final stride.This was the equal highest rated Queen of the South Stakes – alongside Bird Of Fire in 2009 – since Lady Marion won with a rating of 112 way back in 2001.