Under The Louvre has secured a much deserved Group 1 victory when taking out the Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Having finished a close second the start prior in the Goodwood (1200m) at Morphettville, the Robert Smerdon-trained runner was able to turn the tables on Black Heart Bart and scored a narrow win with The Virginian well back in third.
Under The Louvre had placed in all four previous Group 1 efforts and in scoring his first Group 1 success returned a Timeform figure of 118, the same as his Goodwood run and one pound below his previous peak.
The run of the race came from Black Heart Bart with the 58kg, who returned a career peak Timeform figure of 126, three pounds above his Goodwood win.
The last five years have now seen the second placegetter of the Stradbroke run to a higher figure than the winner with Black Heart Bart only one for four to run 126 or higher in the race.
Buffering ran to 126 on two occasions when runner up with Rough Habit (127) and Schillaci (129) the only two to run higher figures.
The Racing and Sports Field Strength Value (RSFS) of 118.3 was slightly below par for a Group 1 and probably closer to that of a Group 2 and below that of the 2015 renewal of 120.1.
The Virginian also showed he is one to keep an eye on going forward after running third in just his fourth career outing.
Ran to a new career peak figure of 102, five pounds above his Gold Coast Guineas run behind Takedown.
Eagle Way was able to peak at the right time to claim a strong victory in the Group 1 Queensland Derby (2400m) having been very consistent in the lead up races.
Not far away from Mackintosh in the Group 3 Grand Prix Stakes when runner up, Eagle Way showed good improvement from that effort and from back in the field was able to run out the 1.8L winner over Rodrico in second with I’m Belucci third.
Eagle Way ran to a new career peak of 113, five pounds above his effort in the Grand Prix Stakes and two pounds above 2015 winner Magicool over the 2200m at Doomben.
The RSFS of 110.5 which is on par with a 3YO Group 2 was exactly the same as the 2015 renewal which saw Werther and Jumbo Prince in the placings.
Rodrico at generous odds made his way into second place and ran to 109? 14 pounds above his previous best when winning at Randwick two starts back.
I’m Belucci in third also ran to a new peak of 106 with Howard Be Thy Name and Mackintosh running below their previous best.
Delayed a week due to the rain, Provocative was one of two New Zealand gallopers to claim a Group 1 on the day when taking out the Queensland Oaks (2400m).
Settling back in the field like many winners on the day, Provocative edged forward coming to the turn and was able to outstay her rivals in the straight, winning by three lengths over Ambience in second with Falkenberg third.
Provocative, a three-year-old filly by Zabeel out of an O’Reilly mare ran to a clear new peak of 113p, 14 pounds above her previous best effort which came in the Avondale Guineas.
The RSFS of 110.2 was only slightly below the 2015 renewal of 110.5 taken out by Winx who ran to 115p with Provocative the third highest rated winner in the last 10 years.
Placegetters Ambiance and Falkenberg both ran to 107, a peak rating for Falkenberg but three pounds below Ambience’s second placing in the Group 1 Australian Oaks.
The final Group 1 of the day saw fellow New Zealand-trained runner Sacred Elixir win the J.J Atkins with ease, running out the three and a half length winner over Charnley River in second with Heart Skipt A Beat third.
Having not had a great deal of luck behind Attention in the Sires’ Produce, Sacred Elixir appreciated the step up to the mile and returned a clear peak Timeform figure of 115p.
Sacred Elixir is the highest rated winner since Sizzling in 2012 and one pound higher than 2015 winner Press Statement.
The RSFS of 108.9 is below that of the 2-15 renewal which saw Sagaronne and Look To The Stars fill the placings.
Both Charnley River and Heart Skipt A Beat at the very big odds ran to new peaks of 106 and 98 with the well fancied Souchez and Attention running well below par.
