Seven Fillies in Line for Filly of the Year Series Crown

A full field of 18 fillies will take their place in the $400,000 Group 1 New Zealand Bloodstock Insurance NZ Oaks (2400m) on Saturday at Trentham, the final leg of the New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series, and the final hope for seven fillies in line to take the coveted crown.

With 12 points on offer to the winner, 7 for second and 3.5 for third, the competition is still wide open with seven fillies within striking distance of winning the prestigious ten-race Filly of the Year Series. The seven contenders for the crown are Daffodil (18 points), Puttanesca (14.5), Alagant Satin (14), Juice (13), Glamorous Girl (12), Awesome Planet (10.5) and Ekstreme (6).

The NZ Oaks will be staged at Trentham where today (Thursday) the track is a Dead 5 with predicted fine weather in Wellington improving the track continuously until Saturday.

Deserved race favourite and current leader of Filly of the Year Series, Group 1 New Zealand Bloodstock 1000 Guineas winner Daffodil (No Excuse Needed - Spring, by O'Reilly) looks well drawn in barrier 8 for top hoop Hayden Tinsley. Tinsley was also aboard the filly at her last start, a fantastic second in the Group 3 Lowland Stakes raced on an unfavourable heavy track.

Bred and raced by Waikato Stud principals Garry & Mary Chittick, Daffodil will be looking to add further glory to her outstanding international Group 1 producing family of Kyak which includes Good Faith (NZ), Dash For Cash (AUS), Indigenous (HK), Nannina (GB), and many others.

The Bertolini-sired duo of Juice (ex Call Minder, by Christmas Tree) and Puttanesca (ex Tesoro, by Prized) will have to finish in the top two to earn themselves the Filly of the Year title. Both ran in the $2.2m NZ Derby at their last starts with Juice finishing a creditable fourth-equal, while Puttanesca was less impressive in fifteenth position. Leith Innes will jump out on Juice from barrier 14 for trainer John Wheeler, while Puttanesca has drawn 11 for Vanessa and Wayne Hillis, with Noel Harris aboard.

Glamorous Girl (Thorn Park - J'Lo, by Unbridled's Song), trained by Roger James and Paul Mirabelli, and Alagant Satin (Al Akbar - Glowing Satin, by Noble Bijou), trained by �Murray and Bjorn Baker, are the only other fillies in the race that could possibly win the NZB Series by finishing second. The fillies showed outstanding form by finishing fast for second and fourth respectively in the Group 2 Cambridge Stud Sir Tristram Fillies Classic (2000m), but both disappointed at their next starts. They will both be looking to out-stay their Group 1 sprinter-miler sires.

Group 1 winning middle-distance stallions Giant's Causeway and Ekraar produced the final two contenders for the NZB Filly of the Year title. Awesome Planet (Giant's Causeway x Dance on the Moon, by Fasliyev) and Ekstreme ( Ekraar x Cashcade, by Anziyan) will need to win Saturday's event - and have none of the other contenders come second - in order to claim the crown.

Both fillies come out of the Group 3 Lowland Stakes which was won impressively by Ekstreme by one and a half lengths, with Awesome Planet running on gamely for third. From the Graeme Rogerson, Scott Lucock and Roydon Bergerson stable, Awesome Planet has drawn the better of the two in 6, while Patrick Holmes retains the ride on Ekstreme from barrier 13 for New Plymouth trainer Bryce Revell and the Waimea Racing Sydnicate.

Leading NZ Oaks contenders without Filly Series points include the second top rated filly in the field, Mill Duckie (Magic Ring - Vintage Class, by Masterclass), and Jungle Rocket (Jungle Pocket - Gu Li, by Last Tycoon), who ran one-two in Auckland's major Oaks lead-up, the Listed Sunline Vase (2100m) on Auckland Cup Day. Both fillies are highly promising with the only concern being the fact that neither filly has relatives in their first three dams who have won over 2200m. Tasha Collett, on Mill Duckie, must also overcome her wide draw in barrier 21.

John Wheeler's NZ Oaks contender is Set The Tempo (Pins - Set the Pace, by Groom Dancer) who ran third in the listed Sunline Vase and directly descends from Group 1 WRC George Adams Handicap winner Tiptoe and Listed Manawatu Cup winner Gay Jinx. This is the family of 1959 NZ Oaks winner Routine.

Can't Keeper Down (Keeper - Ashley Downs, by Grosvenor) for Lisa Latta and Cassini (Reset - Mathematical, by Honor Grades) for Mark Oulaghan are the only other fillies with Filly of the Year points in the race, but even a win will not be enough to see these consistent fillies top the leaderboard.

Four promising fillies who have won in their last two starts will be looking to escalate their residual value rapidly by placing in the Group 1 fillies classic. They include Howie and Lorraine Matthews' Dutch Striker (Van Nistelrooy - There's No Doubt, by Pompeii Court), Paul Duncan's Starmon (Monolith - Starnui, by Rancher), Allan Sharrock's Taatledoya (Faltaat - The Gifted Shifta, by Defensive Play), and Vanessa and Wayne Hillis' second contender, Infinite Way (Traditionally - Rise Above, by Kreisler).

The remainder of the field is balloted and need scratching/s to make the field. They include David Howarth's Bird (Danasinga - Quiescent, by Gleam Machine ), Karen Fursdon and Gemma Sliz's Our Zara (Yamanin Vital - Noble Light, by Noble Bijou), Rogerson, Lucock, and Bergerson's Affairoftheheart (Fusaichi Pegasus - Call Me Lily, by Just a Dancer ), and Andrew Scott's Miss Judged (Volksraad - You Beauty, by Comet Shine).

The Group 1 NZB Insurance New Zealand Oaks is set to jump at 4.22pm at Trentham. To get oncourse on 'Girls' Day' visit http://www.trentham.co.nz/.

Click here to view NZB's Filly of the Year leader board.