by Myra Lewyn

Samantha Miss deprived Sebring of a third straight Group 1 victory on Saturday when she nailed him on the finish line to win the $423,874 Visa Entertainment Champagne Stakes (Aus-G1) after an extended battled throughout the Royal Randwick straight.

The race was one of four Group 1 events on Saturday’s card, with jockeys Hugh Bowman and Damien Oliver enjoying two victories each.

A Redoute’s Choice filly, Samantha Miss finished second to Sebring while wearing blinkers in the Inglis Sires’ Produce Stakes (Aus-G1) on April 26 at the Sydney racecourse.

The More Than Ready colt, who won the AAMI Golden Slipper Stakes (Aus-G1) a week prior to that at Rosehill Gardens, entered Saturday’s race poised to add to his winning streak. But with the blinkers removed on Saturday, the bay filly proved a tenacious opponent as she turned the tables on her familiar foe.

Samantha Miss spurted to the early lead under Bowman but lost it to Sebring at the 1,000-meter mark. She ranged up on the outside of Sebring soon after, and the pair engaged in a spirited duel.

Although Sebring dug in resolutely under Blake Shinn, he was no match for the determined filly, who bested him by a short head while covering 1,600 meters (7.95 furlongs) in 1:38.28 on a turf course rated dead.

“I had a lot of faith in my filly,” Bowman told the Sydney Morning Herald about Samantha Miss, who earned her first stakes victory. ”With the blinkers off she settled a lot better, gave me an easy ride, and what a great performance it was. She really had to dig deep to beat him and she did.”

Samantha Miss is trained by Kris Lees, who purchased the filly out of the Zabeel mare Milliyet for $1,239,450 at the 2007 Inglis Easter yearling sale.
 
Bowman also enjoyed success aboard former champion Racing To Win, who tallied by one length in the $376,446 Daily Telegraph All-Aged Stakes (Aus-G1).

Runner-up to Australian star sprinter Weekend Hussler in the Cathay Pacific George Ryder Stakes (Aus-G1) on April 19, Racing To Win raced wide in the early stages of the 1,400-meter (6.96 furlong) turf race before advancing to fourth at the 400-meter mark.

The five-year-old Encosta de Lago gelding, trained by John O’Shea, powered clear in the closing strides, defeating Group 3 winner Murtajill to score the fifth Group 1 win of his career while finishing the trip in 1:22.79. 

No Wine No Song had plenty of plenty of stamina in reserve as he defeated Pentathon by one length in the $681,891 Schweppes Sydney Cup (Aus-G1).

Damien Oliver settled the six-year-old Song of Tara gelding off the early before finding a clear path at the top of the straight. With less than 400 meters to run, he matched strides with Pentathon then surged clear for the win.

No Wine No Song, third in last year’s edition of the race, covered the 3,200 meters (15.91 furlongs) in 3:25.51, leaving his connections to consider the famous Emirates Melbourne Cup (Aus-G1) in November.

“He’s a lovely horse,” trainer Kevin Moses told the newspaper. “You could take him to dinner and he’d sit here with better manners than most of the people you eat with.”

Oliver partnered with Sarrera to pull a last-to-first upset in the $470,066 Patinack Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Aus-G1), defeating several Group 1 winners.

Oliver settled the seven-year-old Quest for Fame (GB) gelding, a stakes winner at Caulfield in 2005, at the back of the nine-horse field before he raced up the rail to edge Group 1 winner Nom Du Jeu by a head.

Trained by Michael Moroney, Sarrera covered 2,000 meters (9.94 furlongs) in 2:03.50 and earned his first group victory.

Tuesday Joy, who entered of back-to-back Group 1 wins for trained Gai Waterhouse, finished third, and former champion Desert War, and earner of more than $3-million, finished fourth in his final career race.

Myra Lewyn is daily news editor of Thoroughbred Times