Zenalicious finished over the top of her rivals to record an impressive victory in the 2016 Reginald Allen Quality at Rosehill Gardens this afternoon.
Zenalicious stormed home late to record an impressive victory in the 2016 Reginald Allen Quality at Rosehill Gardens this afternoon. Photo by: Steve Hart
In-form hoop Tim Clark settled Zenalicious towards the tail of the field and he was very patient on the talented filly, but he timed his run to perfection in the final stages.
The Chris Waller-trained duo of Invincibella and Overstep cleared out from the rest of the field and looked as though they were going to fight out the finish, but Zenalicious was far too strong in the final 100 metres.
Clark has now steered Zenalicious to two wins from her past two starts and he said that he was always confident that that $16 chance had the turn-of-foot to be a factor in the finish.
“I decided to ride her quiet from the awkward gate and I knew that she was going to be really strong at the end of 1400,” Clark said.
“I got the breaks when I needed them and it was a fairly soft win on the line.”
Zenalicious failed to beat home a single runner when she made her racing debut in the Group 2 Sweet Embrace Stakes (1200m) at Royal Randwick on February 27, but she has gone to another level as a three-year-old.
She started her campaign with a fourth place finish at Kembla Grange on August 20 and she improved for third in the Maiden Plate at Canterbury on September 7 before she backed up a week later in the at Warwick Farm to record a maiden race win.
Trainer Les Bridge is yet to decide where Zenalicious will head following her Reginald Allen Quality, but the Group 1 Flight Stakes (1600m) at Royal Randwick next weekend could be the daughter of Choisir.
Invincibella was well-backed in the lead-up to the Reginald Allen Quality and she looked like the winner before Zenalicious flew over the top of her late.
