Ken and Bev Kelso bought Alabama Lass in Melbourne as a yearling two years ago, and a stunning performance in Saturday’s Gr.3 Haunui Farm King’s Plate (1200m) at Ellerslie has them plotting a return.
The $250,000 sprint feature on Champions Day was a rematch of the Gr.1 Railway (1200m) in January, where Crocetti defeated Alabama Lass by a short head. Alabama Lass had a weight swing in her favour on Saturday and jumped as a $1.70 favourite to turn the tables, and she delivered in style.
Alabama Lass broke sharply from the gates, went straight to the lead and never gave her five rivals a look in. Jockey Sam Spratt put the pedal to the floor at the home turn and Alabama Lass exploded clear, opening up a winning margin of five and a quarter lengths over Crocetti. Alabama Lass stopped the clock at 1:10.46.
“It was just such a shame that it rained for the Railway last time,” Spratt said. “If that rain hadn’t come, I’m pretty sure she would have done something similar there and would probably have won that race too. But it was a super effort today.
“I just tried to cuddle her up as long as I could. She just travelled so well, and even though she’s skipping along quite fast, she’s doing it so easily. I just cuddled her up and then pressed the button in the straight.”
Alabama Lass became the fourth three-year-old to win the King’s Plate in the last 20 years, joining Jazzella (2007), Martini Red (2008) and Sword Of State (2022).
Alabama Lass has now had eight starts for five wins, three seconds and $609,750 in stakes – an outstanding return on her A$120,000 yearling price in Melbourne. Her three-year-old season has seen her win the Gr.2 Soliloquy Stakes (1400m) and Gr.3 Gold Trail Stakes (1200m), alongside second placings in the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) and Railway.
“I’m very proud of her,” Ken Kelso said on Saturday. “She’s a beautiful filly, a little gem.
“We’ve always known she was capable of something like this. She was just unlucky to strike rain-affected tracks in those Group One placings in her last two starts. Take nothing away from the horses that beat her in those races, but the rain just dulled her sprint a little bit. Today was a different story.
“We’ll look at taking her across to Melbourne now, where there’s a three-year-old race over 1100m later in the month. It’s just a Listed race, but it would be good to pick up a bit of black type over there if we can.”
That race is the A$500,000 HKJC World Pool Sprint Classic (1100m) at Flemington on March 29.Despite having to settle for second behind Alabama Lass in the King’s Plate, Crocetti picked up the five points he needed to win the $300,000 bonus prize for topping the table in the Sport Nation Champion Sprint Series. He finished with 15 points, which puts him just ahead of Alabama Lass and Here To Shock on 12.
