It had been a frustrating transfer to the mainland for Geegees Mistruth but the former Tasmanian mare landed the biggest prize of her career, winning the Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m) at Morphettville on Saturday.
Formerly trained by Stuart Gandy, Geegees Mistruth won two stakes races as a two-year-old before placing in three Melbourne Group races in the Spring of 2024.
She added another pair of Group 3 races to her resume prior to transferring to the care of Mark Walker at Cranbourne, placing in four of her six starts without luck on occasion, atoning with the narrowest of victories on Saturday.
Given a sweet run by Jordan Childs, the $31 chance lunged at Bridal Waltz ($6.50) right on the line to score by a nose, with the barest of margins back to reigning Sangster winner Charm Stone ($6.50) in third.
Flying For Fun ($13) was beaten just a half-head by the winner in fourth in a thrilling four-way go and assistant trainer Ben Gleeson said it was a relief to break through with the talented four-year-old.
“Her journey this spring and the autumn just sums up racing. It’s a lot of lows, but when the highs happen, they’re worth it,” Gleeson said.
“This filly arrived in our care back in the spring, and she came over in great order. Stuart Gandy, who has done all the work with her as a young horse and done a wonderful job.
“We just sort of thought, God, when are we going to get some luck with her? At least we got her when it counted most.
“She just peeled off their backs and I thought, ‘Oh, here we go.’
“She very rarely changes legs, and you sort of saw her do it for the first time in a long time.
“Credit to Jordy – he got his hands down in her neck and got the head down when it counted.”
The win was Childs’ second at the top level, coming some eight years after the first in the 2016 Blue Diamond Stakes.
“It’s been a long time between drinks,” Childs said.
“Written By in 2018, I’ve had quite a few placings in between in the big group ones, and I was sort of hoping my second one would come a bit sooner, but anyway, still very grateful for the ride and the connections.
“Once I presented her, she quickened up well, we were getting challenged by the other horses, and she was able to hold on.”
“I wasn’t sure (who won), and I was looking up the drone to see where it was going, and it was pretty close to me, but Zahra was there as well, so I wasn’t sure if it was me and him, and then he said that I won.
“Winning another group one, it’s great.”
