Leading female racing figures Gai Waterhouse and Kathy O’Hara teamed with Upon This Rock to win the $200,000 Dark Jewel Classic for fillies and mares at Scone on Saturday.
Upon This Rock ($15) held out last year’s winner Shannara ($4.60 fav) by three-quarters of a length in the 1400m feature to continue Waterhouse’s outstanding run of feature wins in recent months.
O’Hara finally broke through in the Dark Jewel having finished runner-up twice.
“Scone has always been a lucky carnival for me,” O’Hara said.
“I’ve won two Scone Cups on Fighting Fund and Spy Zaim and I said before today that I wanted to win this race because I’ve finished second in it twice (on Alverta and Hairy).”
O’Hara has made headlines herself during the autumn carnival in Sydney when she guided Ofcourseican to victory in the Coolmore Classic to snare her first Group One success.
Upon This Rock settled midfield in transit with cover and was in the clear on the outside from the top of the straight and ready to pounce.
Shannara had to weave through the field and came late but Upon This Rock had skipped away to record her first stakes win.
The Gary Portelli-trained Rose Of Peace ($26) was third, a length behind Shannara.
Waterhouse’s other runner More Strawberries ($5) led the field but didn’t have much to offer when Tommy Berry asked her for an effort and she came in 10th.
The Peter Snowden-trained Forfeiture appeared an unlucky runner after being held up on the fence and was unable to be tested at any stage in the straight, finishing 12th.
“The way the race was run suited her and she has come right at the right time,” Waterhouse said of the winner.
“Her run in Adelaide last start was outstanding. Today the way they ran along, Kathy let her find her feet and she ran home really nicely. It was a joy to see her win.”
The Dark Jewel brought up a race-to-race double for O’Hara after the impressive performance of Emotional Circus in the HBTA Protect Our Industry 3YO Handicap (1100m).
Emotional Circus’s 2-1/2-length win brought up Jason Coyle’s first winner since he moved his stable back to Warwick Farm from Randwick earlier this week.
“She was much too good for them today. She’s a black-type filly,” O’Hara said.
