Smart filly turns on a show of quality

Powerful filly Mystery Show showed she had more than one string to her bow with a sterling performance at Te Rapa on Friday.

Trainer James Bridge’s change of tactics resulted in his Group One contender Mystery Show giving all her rivals a start and a sound beating in the Goldsmith’s Gallery 1200.

“I wanted her ridden a little quieter,” he said. “I’m very relieved and it’s always nice to see good horses perform going into the bigger races.

“We saw another side of the filly today and that gives up options.”

Tony Pike’s Lady Hass finished runner-up to Mystery Show with the Graeme and Debbie Rogerson-trained Savasava third, while his stablemate and favourite Ichiban ran sixth after being parked three wide without cover.

The winner of two of her four starts and placed in the Gr.3 Gold Trail Stakes, Mystery Show will run in the Listed Soliloquy Stakes at Ellerslie on October 22 as her final lead in to the Gr.1 gavelhouse.com NZ 1000 Guineas three weeks later. She is currently a $12 chance for the Riccarton feature.

Meanwhile, Peter McKay had to revert to Plan B for Amarula to add to his winning record in the NRM 1400.

The Matamata trainer had been keen on a crack at the Gr.3 Red Badge Spring Sprint at Hastings on Saturday, but he stayed closer to home after pondering a longer-range weather forecast.

“I desperately wanted to go to Hawke’s Bay and try to win a Group race, but at the start of the week it looked like rain there and fine here,” McKay said.

As it turned out, Amarula had to contend with a Slow 9 track at Te Rapa where he made the running and kicked too well in the straight for possible Gr.2 Coupland’s Bakeries Mile contenders Charmont and Seize The Moment.

“He’s a good horse and it was only his ability that got him through, he doesn’t like wet tracks,” McKay said.