Day Two The Championships: Queen Elizabeth Stakes action
O’HARA UPDATE: LUCIA Valentina has come from last with a barnstorming run to take out the $4 million Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Royal Randwick.
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LUCIA Valentina was last most of the way, nearly fell when on the home turn, picked herself and still raced straight past an outstanding field of weight-for-age stars to win Sydney’s biggest race with effortless ease.
Make no mistake, this was an outstanding by Lucia Valentina in the Group 1 $4 million Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) before 25,195 race fans at Royal Randwick.
She was so good it makes you wonder what would have happened if Sydney’s mighty mare Winx had been in the race?
The final day of The Championships was marred by Kathy O’Hara’s heavy fall in the $1 million Group 1 Australian Oaks.
O’Hara suffered a collapsed lung and broken ribs when her mount Single Gaze fell and rolled over her as the field entered the home straight.
Deputy chairman of stewards at Racing NSW Greg Rudolph said afterwards: “She is not in a good way. She has chest pain, injured ribs and slightly concussed.”
Trainer Kris Lees gave Lucia Valentina an unorthodox preparation sending her into the Queen Elizabeth second-up at 2000m with one 1500m lead-up run in four months but it worked — spectacularly.
“I just thought I had to do something a bit different, thinking I would be taking on Winx to be fair,’’ said Lees, who also trained the Provincial Championships Final quinella with Danish Twist and Powerline.
“She’s got a terrific turn of foot, she’s so effective at 2000m and she loves a gap between runs, I don’t know why it took me so long to do it.
“I just wanted to get her here with fresh legs. She didn’t have a spell after she went to Hong Kong in December, she just had a little bit of time off so she got here in really good order.
“I had no doubt about her being effective second up and I thought she would run well — but I didn’t think she would go that well.
“The Queen Elizabeth Stakes is starting to become Sydney’s number one race and I feel very honoured to win it.”
Lucia Valentina was sent out at $21 but after striking trouble on the turn she recovered and unleashed a blinding burst of speed to swamp her rivals and win by more than two lengths from the heavily backed The United States ($4.60 favourite) with Happy Clapper ($7.50) a half length away third.
For Hall of Fame jockey, Damien Oliver, it was an extraordinary 40 minutes where he rode Group 1 winners on Azkadellia in the $1 million Coolmore Legacy Stakes (1600m) then backing up with Luca Valentina.
“I am on cloud nine, this is amazing,’’ Oliver said.
“It’s pretty amazing, you never get sick of it. I’ve been doing this a long time and I’m certainly in the home straight of my career but you cherish these moments at the end of your career. It has been a wonderful day and I don’t want it to end.”
Oliver said Lucia Valentina couldn’t go with them early but he didn’t want to bustle her to stay in touch with the field.
“If you just leave her alone this mare she will reward you late,’’ Oliver said.
“Coming to the turn I had a lot of horse and not much room to go anywhere. I went up in between a couple as we straightened and I got shut out of that.
“I had to peel off and there was a narrow gap at the top of the straight which shut on me too.
“But she picked herself up and went zoom. I went from the outhouse to the penthouse in about 200m from the 400m to the 200m.’’
Lees and Oliver weren’t the only ones celebrating dual big-race successes.
Lucia Valentina’s owner Lib Petagna also races Sofia Rosa, winner of the Group 1 ATC Australian Oaks yesterday.
Petagna revealed he purchased Lucia Valentina for $60,000 as a yearling and Sofia Rosa for $65,000 –and collectively the pair won a cool $3 million prizmoney on Saturday.
“We were pretty confident with Sofia Rosa as she is an exceptional filly,’’ Petagna said.,
“But with Lucia Valentina, as good as she is, she needs luck because of her racing style.
“She got the luck today and she showed everyone how good she is. What a day!”
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