Goldplated

Goldplated was an impressive winner of the Autumn Fillies Premier Handicap over a mile and a half, the last race at Leopardstown on Saturday evening, showing a nice turn of foot to win well. She was drawn really wide, 18 of the 20 runners, and raced three or four wide the whole way round. She had to be niggled along around the bottom two bends, and she got shuffled back, seemingly going nowhere as they turned into the home straight, but she fairly took off when pulled to the outside with a couple of furlongs to run. She won with plenty in hand, as soon as she was switched out it always looked as if she would get up and win, which she did with her ears pricked, and she should be even better stepped up in trip.

This was her fourth win in five races in 11 weeks, and she is clearly hugely progressive. She was 3lb out of the handicap here under her 5lb penalty for winning at Galway five days earlier, but she was obviously helped by the fact that her rider, Marc Monaghan, was able to claim 10lb.

The winning time was good, the second fastest comparative time on a day featuring two Group 1s, second only to the Matron Stakes and comparatively faster – somewhat surprisingly – than the Irish Champion Stakes, where they didn’t appear to hang around and in which So You Think was forced to run to the line by Snow Fairy. John Murphy’s filly is plainly in excellent form at present. She started from so well down the handicap (unbelievably she was twice beaten off marks in the 40s earlier in the season) that she would still be able to compete in handicaps off a reassessed mark after this win having been put up to 91. It was surprising that she took her chance in the Group 2 Park Hill Stakes at Doncaster on Thursday, she was the lowest-rated filly in that race by some way, 22lb inferior to top-rated Meeznah even taking her revised mark of 91 as a guide, a mark that is 17lb higher than her Galway mark. She did well to finish fifth in that race, she travelled well for a long way and ran on okay. This was just a step too far for her though, the winner Meeznah was second in the Oaks last year and the runner-up Set To Music is hugely progressive and high class, and Goldplated did finish in front of her two compatriots Spin and Sense Of Purpose. She may need a break now, she has had a few hard races in a row, but she will be of interest when she returns to handicap company. Hopefully her run in the Park Hill hasn’t blown her cover now.

9th September 2011