After a series of impressive performances at various tracks around the country, this season’s elite three-year-old fillies will meet for their first Group One showdown this Saturday.
Riccarton Park hosts the third leg of a fascinating New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year Series, and one of the most significant races on the New Zealand thoroughbred calendar every year – the $300,000 Group One Barneswood Farm 49th New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m).
A quality field of 16 is headed by Imperatriz (I Am Invincible), who was an undefeated Group Two winner as a juvenile and has carried on in a similar vein at three – moving to the top of the Filly of the Year Series points table with a smart last-start victory in the Group Three Soliloquy Stakes (1400m) at Matamata.
The valuable and highly rated filly represents the powerful Te Akau Racing team, trained by Jamie Richards. The syndication powerhouse is shooting for a sixth win in this prestigious fillies’ classic.
But Imperatriz has been defeated once in her five-start career, and that was her only meeting with 1000 Guineas rival Bellacontte (NZ) (Burgundy), who got the Filly of the Year Series underway with an impressive win in the Group Three Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) at Hastings in September.
There You Go (NZ) (Niagara) has taken a different route to Riccarton, outclassing both male and female rivals in a dominant last-start performance in the Group Three Barneswood Farm Stakes (1400m) at Ashburton.
Mustang Valley (NZ) (Vanbrugh) and Belle En Rouge (NZ) (Burgundy) have both recorded close placings in Filly of the Year Series features this spring, while Sorrento (NZ) (Iffraaj) and Irish Red (NZ) (Burgundy) made an impact in the New Zealand Bloodstock Southern Filly of the Year Series with placings in the Listed Canterbury Belle Stakes (1200m).
The likes of The Perfect Pink (NZ) (Savabeel), And We Danced (NZ) (Wrote), Chanel (NZ) (Darci Brahma) and Shepherd’s Delight (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle) have been impressive winners in lower grades.
Going into Saturday’s Guineas, Imperatriz heads the Filly of the Year Series points table with 7.5 points. Bellacontte sits in second place with 6, while Mustang Valley and Dubai Diva (Pride Of Dubai) are in equal third on 3 points each. Belle En Rouge has 1.5 points.
The 1000 Guineas is worth a potentially decisive 12 points to the winner, with 7 points for second and 3.5 points for third.
The Barneswood Farm 49th New Zealand 1000 Guineas will be run as Race 8 at Riccarton Park on Saturday, with a start time of 3.20pm. Click here to see the field.
