Two former Group 1 winning mares had their offspring fill a place in a two-year-old race at Flemington.
Saturday’s VRC Member Philip Jacobsen Sprint saw Argentia, a daughter of Princess Coup, line up against the fifth foal of Black Caviar, Invincible Caviar, in the 1100m dash.
Argentia, by Frankel, showed a touch of class in leading home the field of fillies while Invincible Caviar, by I Am Invincible, finished third after leading under Brian Higgins.
Trained by Anthony and Sam Freedman, Argentia had shown the stable plenty of talent and stable representative Steve Adams said the filly may now be set aside for a spring campaign.
Ridden by Mark Zahra, Argentia ($6.50) raced to a 1-¾ length win from Viviane ($12) with Invincible Caviar ($5.50) a half-length away third.
Adams said the stable wanted Argentia ridden quietly and to finish the race off strongly.
“She’s always shown ability and it is nice to see them win like that. You don’t expect it, but it’s good to see it,” Adams said.
Zahra, who had been aboard the filly in jump-outs on affected ground, had struggled to get a true indication of the filly’s ability, but said she will handle extra ground in the future.
“We’ve always thought of her at 1400 metres plus, but wasn’t sure what to expect today,” Zahra said.
“I lobbed right in ‘A’ spot and I travelled a long way. It took a while to get on the right leg and once I got her on that she was off and gone.”
Invincible Caviar’s trainer Peter Moody, who also prepared Black Caviar throughout her unbeaten 25-start career, was disappointed not to win, but said the filly was far from disgraced.
“She looked a lot like mum when she was rolling along, didn’t she,” Moody said.
“I know the Freedman camp had a big rap on Argentia, so there’s no disgrace.
“This is one of the best two-year-old races we’ve had here since the Blue Diamond and I think it’s going to be a good race, so it’s no disgrace to run third to a very, very good filly.”
Article from JustHorseRacing.com.au