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Lucia Valentina proved too strong for her rivals when taking out the $4m 2016 Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick on Saturday.
Lucia Valentina returned a career peak Timeform figure of 121, two pounds above her fourth placing in the Group 1 Coolmore Classic two starts back with the 58kg.
The rating of 121 for Lucia Valentina is well below recent winners such as Criterion (127) and It’s A Dundeel (129) with Reliable Man and More Joyous both running to 128.
The Racing and Sports field strength value of 121.2 is well below that of the 2015 renewal of 124.7 which had Red Cadeaux in second and Royal Descent third.
Coming into Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) Lucia Valentina was unplaced from all four previous second up efforts however this was the first time the five-year-old mare had run over 2000m second up.
Of the beaten brigade, The United States ran below his Ranvet Stakes effort of 124 and returned a Timeform figure of 121, the same as his second placing in the Blamey Stakes.
The import has certainly come a long way this preparation and could be one to follow going into the spring later in the year.
Happy Clapper showed good improvement from his Doncaster where he returned a figure of 110, running to a new career peak figure of 120.
The well fancied Criterion ran well below his best and will now head off to stud with a career peak Timeform figure of 127 achieved in both the 2015 Melbourne Cup and when winning this race last year.
One of the most interesting winners of the day was Sofia Rosa who claimed victory in the 2016 Group 1 Australian Oaks (2400m).
The New Zealand-trained galloper, owned by the same interests as Lucia Valentina did a lot wrong throughout the race but still fought on strongly to claim a half a length win over Ambience in second with Believe third.
Sofia Rosa ran to a new career peak Timeform figure of 112, four pounds above her second in the New Zealand Oaks which she lost on protest.
Sofia Rosa is the lowest rated winner of the race in a decade with recent winners Gust Of Wind (114) and Rising Romance (116).
The RSFS of 111.9 is about on par with the 2015 renewal which saw Winx finish second to Gust Of Wind.
Of the beaten brigade Ambience ran to a clear new career peak of 111 as did Believe running to the same figure.
Jameka ran six pounds below her previous best of 116 with the well fancied Happy Hannah also not running up to form.
A well rated ride by Kerrin McEvoy gave Gallante victory in the 2016 Group 1 Sydney Cup (3200m) with Libran running a brave second and 2015 winner Grand Marshal third.
Having not scored a win since taking out the G1 Prix De Paris at Longchamp in July of 2014, Gallante came into the race off a solid third behind Libran in the Manion Cup (2400m) and relished stepping up to the 3200m.
Gallante returned a Timeform figure of 117, his highest since taking out the Prix De Paris (119) which was above the 2015 winner Grand Marshal (115) but below 2014 winner The Offer (122)
The RSFS of 119.2 well above that of the 2015 renewal at 116.4 with Libran running up to his best figure of 119 in second and third placegetter Grand Marshal putting in a terrific effort with the 55kg running a career peak 123.
All of the main chances finished in the top 5 with the topweight Who Shot Thebarman running to 122 in fourth.
The final Group 1 on the programme saw Azkadellia follow up up her terrific third in the 2016 Group 1 Doncaster with a strong victory in the 2016 Group 1 Coolmore Legacy Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m).
Under a terrific ride from Damien Oliver along the rails Azkadellia ran out a two length winner over Heavens Above in second with Noble Protector third.
Azkadellia ran to a career peak Timeform figure of 116, eight pounds above her third in the 2016 Group 1 Doncaster Mile (1600m).
The Ciaron Maher-trained runner is the highest rated winner of the race since Appearance in 2013 (118) with Amanpour and Diamond Drille both running to 115 in 2015 and 2014 respectively.
The RSFS of 112.5 is below that of the 2015 renewal of 114.2 which saw Catkins second and Noble Protector third.
Of the placegetters Heavens Above went to a new peak of 111 with Noble Protector running 107, her highest since running 110 in the same race last year.
