Glamour mare Verry Elleegant has had her colours lowered in the Ranvet Stakes as Montefilia upstaged the Horse of the Year in a brilliant performance.
Trainer Chris Waller was offering no real excuses for the Melbourne Cup winner and while he believed the heavy conditions made it hard to make up ground, he said Verry Elleegant was outpointed on the day.
“I think on this really wet track she has lost a bit of her brilliance,” Waller said.
“Ful credit to the winner. She is a very good horse and we couldn’t run her down.
“But it’s just a little bit hard to make up ground.
“I’m not too concerned. The Queen Elizabeth is our main target and I’m certainly not panicking yet.”
The Ranvet Stakes (2000m) was a coming of age for Montefilia, who was competitive in last year’s Caulfield Cup but bypassed the Melbourne Cup because trainer David Payne felt she needed more time to mature.
He is reaping the rewards now and while the experienced horseman has prepared the winners of more than 100 Group 1 races around the world, he admits Montefilia’s Ranvet triumph holds significance.
“It’s special because Verry Elleegant is the Horse of the Year, so I wonder what it makes her (Montefilia) now. She must be up there,” Payne said.
“I must be honest, I didn’t think much of her at first. We ran her at Newcastle and she won and then we ran her again and she ran fourth (in the Group 3 Baillieu Handicap).
“When I realised she was good was when she beat the older horses here over 1500 as a two-year old.
“If you look at her now, she is a different filly, or mare now. She is much stronger.
“And this is only her second run back so I think she will improve a bit as well.”
Payne confirmed Montefilia ($9.50) would head straight to the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, setting up another showdown with Verry Elleegant, who started a prohibitive $1.24 favourite.
“We are going for the Queen Elizabeth now, definitely. She is a special horse,” Payne said.
“I’ll look after her. I want the Melbourne Cup with her later hopefully.”
Montefilia beat Verry Elleegant by two lengths with the pair streeting their rivals, Angel Of Truth ($11) best of the rest another 5-3/4 lengths back.