Perth based filly Bliss Street showed she was on track for her main mission of a Melbourne campaign when she flashed home to win a dramatic Group Three Thousand Guineas Prelude (1400m) at Caulfield this afternoon.
The judge couldn’t split Bliss Street and recent Flemington stakes winner Celebrity Girl – but the latter was relegated to fourth after a protest from Mosheen’s rider Danny Nikolic was quickly upheld by stewards.
The official placings were then declared with Bliss Street first from Hallowell Belle and Mosheen. The erractic Celebrity Girl was declared fourth.
Morton, who has won Group One races in Melbourne with Scenic Shot and Scenic Blast, is looking forward to the Thousand Guineas next month with his promising filly.
“I thought we were going to run second all the way down the straight,” Morton said. “That was a really good effort as she’s come from last.”
“She’d had a really good week so I was pretty impressed with that.”
“In the back of my mind I said to the guys that I think if we run two or three lengths off them today I’m going to be happy moving forward to a mile.”
“I couldn’t be happier,” Morton summed up.
Winning rider Steven Arnold was equally as impressed with the strong finishing burst shown by the filly over the final couple of hundred metres.
“She went super,” he told TVN. “We thought we might ride her a bit closer, but she wasn’t comfortable and we were going to be three deep so I let her come back.”
“She really switched off well today. She had two and a half kilos more than Mosheen who’s run second in a Golden Slipper, so with the weight I think she’s done a great job.”
Bliss Street was purchased by Dan Morton from the draft of Yarraman Park Stud for $100,000 at last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
Along with her earnings of over $269,000, Bliss Street is a valuable young filly have now won group races in two states.
A daughter of Danehill’s Golden Slipper winning sire son Flying Spur, Bliss Street is the feature winner from two runners to date for the stakes winning mare Jade Diva.
Jade Diva won two races at two including the listed Silver Jubilee Stakes at Moonee Valley. She was also fourth in a Group Two Schweppes Stakes and Group Three Blue Diamond Prelude.
Winner: Bliss Street
Breeding: Flying Spur-Jade Diva (Jade Robbery)
Race: MRC Thousand Guineas Prelude G3 (1400m)
Sold for: $100,000
Sale: 2010 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale
Vendor: Yarraman Park Stud (As Agent)
Buyer: Dan Morton
Earnings: $269,096
Owner(s): Geisel Park Pty Ltd Syndicate (Mgr: EG Rigg), M Lockwood, Ms B Lockwood, GA Koch, Ms J Koch, Yarraman Park Stud, Mrs JB Rea & RM MacArthur-Onslow
Trainer: Dan Morton (Ascot)