By Isaac Murphy
Skate to Paris had been making a name for herself as a perennial bridesmaid entering her summer prep with one win and seven placings from her fourteen starts.
But the Chris Munce trained mare has come into her own this prep winning her second race from four starts in the Class Three Plate over 1200 metres at Eagle Farm.
After a tardy getaway Ron Stewart found himself posted three wide near the tail of the field but knew he was on the right horse to win the race.
“She’s run a lot of seconds this horse and I thought it was going to be another hard luck story when she stumbled out of the gates, but it speaks to where she’s at to overcome that and still win,” Stewart said.
“Even though we were three deep I wasn’t panicking, we had cover with the back of Showus Ya Diamonds who brought us into the race just in time to get the last crack at them."
Munce said under similar circumstances in earlier preparations her race would have been all but over, but her maturation shone through.
“It was an unusual place to be we’d certainly hoped to be a little closer, she just lacked that speed early today,” Munce said.
“But she found a way which she’s been doing this time round, going through her grades picking up confidence she’s turning into a really tough race mare.”
Munce said he learned a lot about the horse from her previous campaign and was making sure to place her much more suitably this time round.
“As a three-year-old she went through all those good Winter races leading into the Oaks and failed to run past a mile, but as a mare she’s a bit more mature and should have a couple more wins in her this prep,” he said.
“I’ve got no Winter plans for her at this point, while she’s in form I’m certainly not going to put her out and spell her, she’ll tell me where she wants to go.”
The mare was a shrewd purchase from Munce who picked her up at a bargain price as she continued to rack up the prize money for connections.
“I bought her for $10,000 as a yearling down at the QTIS sales,” he said.
“She’s stakes placed as a two and three-year-old now and she’s won close to $300,000 in prize money, she’s a marvel.”