The feature two-year-old fillies’ race in Sydney of the year, the 2021 Percy Sykes Stakes, has been won in an upset by the Robert & Luke Price-trained Jamaea on Day 2 of ‘The Championships’ at Royal Randwick.
Jockey Tommy Berry had been singing the progressive Headwater filly praises all week ahead of her acid test in the $1 million Group 2 Percy Sykes Stakes (1200m) and his confidence was rewarded.
Berry surged late with Jamaea letting down the final 50m in a terrific turn of foot to hand the father-and-son Price training duo their biggest win to date.
The stable had taken their time and put their confidence in this filly, not tempted by the Golden Slipper after her eye-catching second to Arcaded in Rosehill’s Group 3 Magic Night Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill on March 13.
Instead they kept Jamaea fresh for the million-dollar Randwick showdown and, after a winning Kembla Grange hit-out earlier in the month to keep her ticking over, she was too good for her rivals as a $17 outsider in the Percy Sykes Stakes results.
The Mark Newnham-trained A Very Fine Red led the field around with the market mover Crystal Bound, a six-length winner on debut, travelling second on her outside.
Berry meanwhile was happy to sit back aboard Jamaea allowing her to get into stride before producing her in the dying stages of the race.
Crystal Bound chased the front-runner down the straight moving up nicely and looking the winner before a number of back-markets closed late including Jamaea who had a narrow margin to spare on the line.
In third rounding out the Percy Sykes Stakes trifecta out wide was Joyous Legend, while the Peter & Paul Snowden-trained favourite Najmaty was disappointing having dropped right out of it late for her first loss.
Saturday week’s Group 1 $500,000 Champagne Stakes (1600m) over the Randwick mile presents as a potential next-up target for the Percy Sykes Stakes graduates including the winner Jamaea who is at a current quote of $15 through Ladbrokes.com.au.
Click here for the latest all-in 2021 Champagne Stakes odds online.
2021 Percy Sykes Stakes Results
| Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Penalty | Starting Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | JAMAEA | Robert & Luke Price | Tommy Berry | 9 | 54kg | $17 | |||
| 2 | 5 | CRYSTAL BOUND | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Jason Collett | 0.4L | 8 | 54kg | $3 | ||
| 3 | 9 | JOYOUS LEGEND | Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou | Kerrin McEvoy | 0.8L | 3 | 54kg | $31 | ||
| 4 | 10 | A VERY FINE RED | Mark Newnham | Tim Clark | 0.9L | 5 | 54kg | $21 | ||
| 5 | 11 | YEARNING | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | Brenton Avdulla | 1.1L | 1 | 54kg | $12 | ||
| 6 | 8 | CENTRO STORICO | Richard Litt | Craig Williams | 2.1L | 2 | 54kg | $41 | ||
| 7 | 7 | TRIFACCIA | James Cummings | Ms Rachel King | 2.8L | 7 | 54kg | $6 | ||
| 8 | 2 | NAJMATY | Peter & Paul Snowden | James McDonald | 4.3L | 4 | 55kg | $2.80F | ||
| 9 | 6 | TESTIMONIAL | James Cummings | Glen Boss | 5.9L | 6 | 54kg | $41 | ||
| 1 | ARCADED | James Cummings | Hugh Bowman | 0 | ||||||
| 3 | ROBODIRA | John O’Shea | Tom Marquand | 0 |
Table Credit: Racing Australia.
