Godolphin filly in elite company after Newmarket, but can she win a TJ?
The main talking point out of Saturday's biggest race was the Group 1 gifted to lightweight jockey Dean Holland, but not lost in the aftermath of the Newmarket Handicap was the performance of In Secret.
The James Cummings-trained daughter of I Am Invincible confirmed her status at the premier three-year-old filly in the country with a one-length win over another three-year-old, Snitzel colt Lofty Strike, with $4.60 favourite I Wish I Win close up in third.
For the second time this season, In Secret registered a rating of 120 in winning a 1200-metre Group 1 on the Flemington straight.
Last spring she earned the same rating in the Coolmore Stud Stakes and compares favourably with the previous filly to complete the Coolmore/Newmarket double.
Sunlight did the same double in the 2018/19 season, rating 119 in the Newmarket.
That's six pounds down on 2005 Newmarket winner Alinghi, who is the modern-day benchmark Newmarket filly, while Miss Pennymoney and Isca – the two other fillies to win the Newmarket in the Timeform era – both went 122.
In Secret now heads to the Group 1 T J Smith Stakes (1200m) on April 1, which will present a new challenge at weight-for-age around a bend at Randwick, but her fans will be buoyed by the fact Melito – the only filly to win the T J Smith Stakes since it became a Group 1 – did so when rating 120.
The sobering news is the lowest winning figure in the past decade is Trapeze Artist's 126 and the average winning mark in that time is 128.8 meaning she most likely will need to post a new peak figure if she is to emulate Black Caviar (2011) and Lankan Rupee (2014) and complete the Newmarket/TJ double.
Steel stamps Slipper credentials
We'll never know how Steel City would have gone in the Blue Diamond had the inside run not closed on her halfway up the Sandown straight, but her performance in Saturday's Magic Night Stakes suggested it might have been the one that got away.
The Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained daughter of Merchant Navy became the highest-rating two-year-old filly of the season in winning the Group 2, registering a 114 rating in her 2-1/2-length win over Blanc De Blanc.
That's the same mark Little Brose went when winning the Blue Diamond and five pounds higher than the next-best winning performances by fillies this season; Skirt The Law's Magic Millions win and Learning To Fly's Reisling Stakes success.
The only two-year-old with a higher winning figure this season is Golden Slipper favourite Cylinder, who went 115 in the Todman Stakes.
Saturday's other Sydney 2YO feature winner, Shinzo, went 112 when he defied the pattern of the day to sweep home from the rear and win the Group 2 Pago Pago Stakes.
