After a few near misses and hard-luck stories, the Ben Smith-trained In Her Time has snared a deserved Group One win in The Galaxy at Rosehill.
In Her Time had been knocking on the door with three Group One placings in the past year and the mare got her time to shine in her return from a spell in Saturday’s 1100m Galaxy.
“I don’t know what to feel at the moment. It probably hasn’t sunk in yet,” Smith said after landing his first Group One win.
“It’s something that we’ve targeted for a long time, winning a Group One with this mare and she finally has now.”
Smith said it was a massive relief to finally see his stable star get the Group One she had been promising for some time.
“After knocking on the door for so long you start to think it might not happen,” he said.
“But the way she had come back this time in we were just absolutely rapt.
“And we were hoping she would do what she has done today.”
With jockey Corey Brown missing Saturday’s meeting through suspension, Hong Kong-based Australian Zac Purton picked up the ride.
The Galaxy win for Purton came 40 minutes after he had to settle for a close second aboard the fast-finishing Oohood in the $3.5 million Golden Slipper, won by Estijaab.
“It’s a long way to come. It’s pretty easy to just stay at home, but I enjoy riding these big races on these big days,” Purton said.
“Obviously you’ve got nice horses and to win a race like this it really makes it worthwhile.”
Purton said he was confident throughout the race on In Her Time, who was sent out the $4 favourite and led down strongly from midfield to hit the front in the final 200m.
English ($16) closed strongly to get within three-quarters of a length on the line while Viridine ($4.20) was the same margin away third.
“If she was ever going to win a Group One, she had everything in her favour today,” Purton said.
“The conditions were right, her feet have been good, she’s been trialling well. She was nice and fresh, so it was good to see her go and do what she has done.
“She travelled well and came into it like the winner. A little bit late she got a bit lost but she had the race won.”
The $2.5 million TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) at Randwick in two weeks is In Her Time’s next target.
