Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Star filly Miss Leopatra proved too fast and too strong for her rivals when she overcame the disadvantage of racing without cover on a rain-soaked and muddy track before winning the $50,000 Trotsynd Daintys Daughter Classic at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Produced in great shape by trainer Cameron Ross and driven with confidence by Jocelyn Young, Miss Leopatra, the $1.90 favourite, rated a smart 1.55.3 over the 2130m to smash the race record of 1.56 set by Double Expresso when she won the classic in 2020.
Miss Leopatra, a big, strongly-built New Zealand-bred filly by champion sire Bettors Delight, gave further proof that she will be hard to beat in the $150,000 WA Oaks next Friday week when she began from the No. 5 barrier and raced in the breeze while the $9.50 chance War Cry raced keenly in front.
Young sent Miss Leopatra to the front with 550m to travel, and she dashed over the final 400m in 28.3sec. to beat $26 chance A Precious Gem by a half-length, with Skinny Dippin ($3.10) an excellent third, a half-length farther back after racing in seventh position and sustaining a spirited three-wide burst.
Miss Leopatra has not raced beyond 2185m, but Ross and Young are confident she will have no problems in stepping up to a 2536m trip in the Oaks.
“She is fast and is tough, and I don’t expect the 2536m will worry her,” said Ross. “There is an Oaks preview next Friday, and I’m pretty sure I won’t start her in that race before having a crack at the Oaks the following week.”
Young shared the trainer’s thoughts, saying: “I think she will love the longer journey. She’s got it all, big, strong and good looking. And she has high cruising speed.
“Tonight, I saw that War Cry was pretty stirred up in the score-up, and when that filly began to hit a wheel Miss Leopatra fired up a bit, but that didn’t bother her too much.”
Miss Leopatra, owned by the Howlett family, has raced 14 times for six wins, four placings and $103,20, with Young having formed a splendid association with her, having driven her nine times for six wins, one second and two fourth placings.
Young maintained her winning form at Bunbury’s Donaldson Park on Saturday night when she trained and drove $3.40 chance Skyhigh Adda to victory in the $30,000 Country Oaks when the filly trailed the pacemaker and made use of the sprint lane to defeat the $1.65 favourite Justasmooth Miki.