A decade after steering Winx to a Phar Lap Stakes victory, jockey Tommy Berry has won the race again as Lazzura added to champion trainer Chris Waller’s stunning record in the Group 2 race at Rosehill.
Scratched from Saturday’s G1 Coolmore Classic to instead take her place in the Phar Lap (1500m) for three-year-olds, Lazzura ($4) settled outside the leader before sprinting away from her rivals to defeat Wonder Boy ($5) by 1-3/4-lengths, with the winner’s stablemate Declichy Boulevard ($2.35 bookies fav) another three quarters of a length away third.
The win gave Waller his eighth Phar Lap Stakes success in the past 11 runnings, with all of those victories being with fillies.
Champion Winx started the run of Phar Lap Stakes wins for the Waller stable in 2015 before victories to Foxplay (2017), Unforgotten (2018), Verry Elleegant (2019), Funstar (2020), Hungry Heart (2021), Zougotcha (2023) and now Lazzura.
Lazzura had run into quality fillies such as Lady Shenandoah and Lady Of Camelot in her first two starts this campaign, finishing fourth and third respectively, but without that pair to worry about on Saturday she was able to snare her first Group-race victory after winning a Listed race at Scone as a two-year-old last year.
“When Lady Shenandoah was scratched, I knew this was her race,” Berry said.
“I won this race 10 years ago on Winx, so it was nice to win it today on a lovely filly for a good ownership group.
“We just kept running into a couple of fillies that were just too good for her, that’s plain and simple.
“But she had her time in the sun today.”
Star filly Lady Shenandoah had been an acceptor in the Phar Lap but instead ran in the Coolmore Classic later in the afternoon and notched her third Group 1 win.
Lazzura was still one of four fillies from the Waller yard to line up in the Phar Lap along with third placegetter Declichy Boulevard, Movin Out (fourth) and Real Class (seventh).
Waller said Berry was able to take luck out of the equation by settling outside the leader, and the race turned into a sit-and-sprint affair.
“She’s done a good job, showed great acceleration and backed up some good form from the last two runs behind some top fillies,” Waller said.
Waller said he would talk to Lazzura’s connections about her next target but pinpointed the Group 1 Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m) at Randwick next month as an attractive option.
“It’s still four weeks away but we’ve won that race with a three-year-old before, and keeping a horse fresh,” Waller said.
“Today’s a really hot day so it might take a little bit out of them as well. I’ll have a chat to the owners but I’d be leaning towards that.”
On his eighth win in the Phar Lap Stakes, Waller said the race was a good stepping stone for horses looking to the future.
“A good example is this filly,” Waller said.
“She’s been third behind some very good fillies throughout her career and in particular this preparation. It just gives her a little bit of confidence to say ‘okay, I can go out there and do it myself’.
“So that’s what I see the race as. It’s a race that says, ‘okay, I’ve had a step back from Group 1 level, I’ve got a chance to do it myself and I’ve done it’.
“Hopefully she can step off that.”
