The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Global Glamour (Star Witness) led from barrier to post under Tim Clark to take out the Flight Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) at Randwick on Saturday.
The filly, who was bought out of the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale for $65,000, had run third in the Furious Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) and sixth in the Tea Rose Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) so far this preparation but took a big step forward on her first attempt at a mile.
Alert from the gates, Clark set a steady early pace aboard the keen-going Global Glamour who quickened impressively off the home bend to open up a four length gap on her rivals.
Yankee Rose (All American) came from out of the pack to try and run the winner down, but the $2.05 favourite could only get to within half a length at the line, with Sezanne (More Than Ready) a further two lengths behind in third.
The result provided co-trainer Bott with his first victory at the top level since he began training in partnership with Waterhouse at the start of the season.
“It’s sensational,” Bott said. “It’s an incredible feeling and there are so many emotions going through me.”It is hard to describe. It is a very good feeling and one I will cherish forever.”
A Group One victory was also a long time coming for Clark, whose last top flight success came in Hong Kong in 2013. “It’s been a while.” Clark said. “My last Group One was in Hong Kong on It Has To Be You.”
Clark praised Waterhouse and Bott for choosing to fit the filly with a barrier blanket in an attempt to keep her calm in the preliminaries. “The start was all important today. It was a masterstroke by Gai and Adrian to put the barrier blanket on her. It helped keep her calm,” he said. “She began pretty well and in the small field I was able to control it. “Even though she was still going a bit keen within herself through the run she wasn’t going that quick. It allowed her to have a great turn of foot. “I knew it would take a good one to run me down.”
James O’Brien of Global Glamour’s breeders Lauriston Thoroughbred Farm told ANZ Bloodstock News that the result was a fillip to the Victorian breeding operation. “It’s absolutely fantastic and very exciting for everyone involved,” O’Brien said. “(She has) a weak pedigree page but we reasoned that she was good enough on type to get to the Magic Millions. “I’m thrilled because it’s the first horse we’ve ever had with Gai Waterhouse and she’s now a Group One winner. It’s just such a thrill for the farm.”
Lauriston Thoroughbreds raced Global Glamour’s dam Spectacula who won two races and $93,090 in prize money. “She was a Moonee Valley winner and was very fast. She ran just a fraction under $100,000 but succumbed to a leg issue so was lightly raced. We raced her ourselves and she showed enough on the track to breed on with her. I have had an affinity with Success Express line mares, we raced Gold Edition,” continued O’Brien.
“(Spectacula) is probably a week away from foaling to Street Boss. This year I was tossing up with Nostradamus because he’s so closely related to Star Witness but I made the decision after Global Glamour’s Group Two placing to send the mare back to Star Witness, so she will go back there. We’ll have a full relation to Global Glamour and we’ll see if she can do it again.”
Spectacular has a colt by Reset before being covered by Street Boss (Street Cry) last October. “We’ve had good success racing but to now have good successbreeding is fantastic for us,” O’Brien added.
Jockey Blake Shinn was a little disappointed with the performance of ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) winner Yankee Rose, who he felt had enough time to overhaul the winner. “I had a pretty good run throughout and thought I was close enough approaching the turn,” Shinn said. “I was waiting for that electrifying turn of foot that she can possess. She was a little one-paced at the top of the straight but she was great through the line.”
Global Glamour (3 f ex Spectacula by Testa Rossa) has won two of her four starts for total prize money of $338,500 and, in taking out the Flight Stakes, she became the Widden Stud-based Star Witness’ (Starcraft) first Group One winner.
One of four named foals out of Testa Rossa (Perugino) mare Spectacula, Global Glamour is a half-sister to the placed gelding Harmeal(Al Maher). Her family can be traced further back to the Group Three winner Sam Sung A Song (Timber Country), while her fifth dam, the stakes winning Apollua (King Apollo) is the fourth dam to the Listed winner and Group Three placed Rocket To Glory (Shovhog).
Anna Seitz put together the syndicate that races Global Glamour, which consists of almost 40 women from around the world. “It’s like a dream come true,” said Seitz from Kentucky yesterday after the filly’s win. “We are just having the best fun. We spoke yesterday and thought if she could run third and be Group One placed it would be incredible – but to win, it’s amazing.” Seitz said that the syndicate was put together for the female ownership promotion, Magic Millions Racing Women.
“I was on the bus one morning going to the sale and I was chatting to Elaine Lawlor (of Goffs) and we decided to find a horse and form a syndicate to take part in the promotion. “What a wonderful idea from Katie Page-Harvey – the world had never seen anything like it. Our bloodstock manager James Bester was then left in charge of finding the right horse. “We picked out a few and tried to buy an Uncle Mo filly who turned out to be Conchita, and then James told me to come down on the Saturday night after the races and look at a Star Witness filly.”
Article from ANZ Bloodstocknews.com
