Rachel King has made the most of a late pick-up ride with victory aboard So Audacious at the Australia Day meeting at Warwick Farm, a fortuitous connection to the filly’s family providing her with some extra insight.
The top jockey had ridden the three-year-old’s dam, two-time winner Audacious Choice, a mare trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott who King remembered fondly.
“I actually remember her mum quite well from Gai’s,” King said.
“I hoped she was like her and she showed that good attitude her mum had.”
Tommy Berry was booked to partner So Audacious but had to stand down from Thursday’s meeting due to illness, prompting King’s call-up for the ride.
Despite conceding race experience to all but one of her rivals in the Fujitsu General Plate (1100m), So Audacious ($9) dug deep after looking to be under pressure coming around the turn, lifting to edge out Coriolis ($4.60) and leader Snitcat ($14).
King said the winner was green but game.
“She wasn’t quite sure how to chase rounding the turn and at the top of the straight, and it actually helped her when the horse (Coriolis) came up on her outside and gave her a bit of a push along,” King said.
“She showed really good determination and just wants to be a racehorse.”
Winning trainer David Pfieffer was delighted with the result and said while So Audacious had shaped well at home and in her trials, he thought she might find the 1100m too short on pedigree.
“Being by So You Think, you’re always a bit cautious about how you’re going to go first start in a race over 1100 (metres),” Pfieffer said.
“I think she is going to want a bit of ground.
“She has shown plenty of ability at home and she is still a bit immature, she has got a lot of learning to do and still got to capitalise on some experience, but she started off the right way.”
