Appreciating the wet conditions underfoot, Sydney visitor Satono Glow has staged an impressive win at Flemington.
The Group 3 Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes (1200m) on Saturday was expected to be a two-horse race between the heavily backed $2.10 favourite Gin Twist and Jadzia ($3.10).
Both fillies had previous experience down the Flemington straight which invariably holds them in good stead when it comes to racing down the straight again.
But the unknown was the heavy track following rain overnight and again on race morning.
It proved decisive as Satono Glow ($4.20) raced to a three-length win under Jamie Melham from Salann ($41) with Gin Twist a nose away third.
After sharing the lead with Gin Twist, Jadzia weakened to finish fifth, eight lengths from the winner.
Melham entered Saturday’s race confident Satono Glow could upset her more fancied rivals because of her liking for soft ground which was shown in her debut win at Warwick Farm on March 11.
“I was confident but with fillies down the straight for the first time, you don’t want to leave it too late because they can promise the world and then get lost,” Melham said.
“Credit to the team educating this little filly. She was a bombproof ride today and I feel that the Sydney horses normally go well in the wet as they are used to being trained on the softer tracks up there.
“She loved the wet today and the way she got through it, this horse was a very easy ride in the end.
“Her attitude really impressed me. She’s a small horse to the eye but the feel she gave me, she felt like she had a really big stride underneath her and she settled like she will get further in time.”
Jade Lys, representing trainers John O’Shea and Tom Charlton, said she was unsure of plans for the filly, but it was likely Satono Glow would return home to Sydney with her trainers potentially looking for a race during The Championships.
“We couldn’t have been happier with her since her last start,” Lys said.
“She won in the soft last start, so we were not worried about the rain today.”
