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She left it right to the last minute, but Red Tracer finally brought up a Group 1 triumph when proving too strong in Saturday’s Tattersall’s Tiara (1400m) at Eagle Farm.
Photo by Racing and Sports
It was the final Group 1 on the 2012-13 calendar, and the 10th time Chris Waller’s star mare had raced at the top level. This time, she was not going to be denied.
The writing was on the wall early with rain last week reducing the Eagle Farm track to a Slow 7, perfect conditions for Red Tracer, although she still faced a stiff line up of challengers including her old sparring partner Streama, and boom Queensland filly Peron.
Plus she had to jump from the widest gate while Streama had the luxury of barrier one.
Both mares jumped well, with Red Tracer assuming a slightly wide, yet comfortable spot just off the pace set by Steps In Time and Arctic Flight.
Streama meanwhile was buried back on the rail in midfield and Peron was well back in the field.
Rounding the bend Red Tracer pulled wide with plenty of cover and hit the front about 200m from home before bounding away to finish 2.3L clear.
Streama took plenty of shortcuts on the fence and just nosed out a game Floria for third.
Guy Walter’s super consistent Sydney mare Skyerush was fourth while Peron could only manage 10th after being forced very wide rounding the home turn.
In truth, the class rise probably told on the John Thompson filly.
Her failure ended the rich recent streak of fillies winning the race. Thompson’s Pear Tart won it as a three-year-old last year, emulating the feats of Yosei in 2011 and Melito in 2010.
Red Tracer equalled her career peak with the win, running to a blistering 119 – the same figure she produced when shaded a nose in the Group 1 Coolmore Classic (1500m) over the Sydney autumn by Appearance.
She finished seven pounds clear of Streama and Floria who both ran to 112. For Streama that run was five pounds off her last-start third in the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m), while it was a new peak for Peter Moody’s Floria.
It was a stronger race than last year – Pear Tart only ran to 114 when prevailing in a tight finish and has since failed to reproduce that performance.
In fact Red Tracer’s win was almost three pounds above the five-year winning average leading into the race.
Only Melito, who ran to 122, has produced a better figure since Dane Ripper’s win in 1997 which followed her triumph in the Stradbroke Handicap two weeks prior.
Dane Ripper went on to win the Cox Plate later that year and collected an Australian Cup and a Manikato Stakes before retiring, finishing with four Group 1 wins. The Tattersall’s Tiara was known as the Winter Stakes back then and was only a Group 3.
As is the usual pattern with Tatt’s Tiara winners, Red Tracer will spell now and Waller plans to continue racing over the spring with the five-year-old daughter of Dane Shadow as opposed to retiring the mare.
“It takes so long to get horses of this calibre and she's the type who could be competitive in these types of races for at least another season,” Waller said after winning the race.
“She hasn't been heavily raced. She's in career-best form and is the soundest and healthiest she's ever been.
“No horse deserves it more than her and I doubt there's a person anywhere who would deny her this win.
“It's great to see her finally get that Group 1 because she's never had a lot of luck in some races at this level.”
She may well take a similar path to last spring which culminated in a disappointing 10th in the Group 1 Myer Classic (1600m).
She resumed in early October last spring at Randwick winning the Group 2 Premiere Stakes (1200m) before running third behind Streama and Pear Tart in the Group 2 Tristarc Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield.
Should she strike a wet Melbourne spring, Red Tracer might just bathe in further Group 1 success.
And expect the rivalry with Streama to continue down there.
As for Peron, she’s probably had enough this campaign but she’s improved with every run and her career record stands at an imposing six wins from eight starts now.
Make sure you keep her in the black book.