By Michael Guerin
Don’t be surprised to see the real All You Need Is Me back in the winner’s circle at Addington tonight.
The highly talented mare returns in the $60,000 Garrards Premier Mares Championship, a race robbed of one of its favourites with the scratching of Princess Meritaten.
That leaves All You Need Is Me versus Treacherous Baby off the front line of the 1980m mobile, with neither having raced since finishing third and sixth respectively in the NZ Oaks on November 29.
Even more remarkably All You Want Is Me hasn’t won since taking the Northern Oaks last March at Alexandra Park when she looked maybe the best of her crop and something very special.
Co-trainer Cran Dalhety says that run of outs is not her fault.
“She is a mare who has suffered very badly from seasonal issues,” explains Dalgety.
“They really affected her in the spring but she is well and truly over those now and I think we will see something a lot more like her best this week.”
That would take All You Need Is Me close but she still faces the issue of starting outside Treacherous Baby, who was one of our two best fillies alongside Duchess Megxit in the second half of 2024.
Which one of the Group 1 winners is more ready for tonight and how the early tactics pan out could decide the race, the first leg of the mares Group race double, with the Group 1 Breeders Stakes in two weeks.
They aren’t the only Group 1-winning three-year-olds from last season returning tonight as NZ Derby winner We Walk By Faith in back in Race 9.
He takes on stablemate Wish Me Luck and the talented Bazooka in a 1980m mobile but We Walk By Faith looked forward when finishing second off a 40m handicap at the Rangiora trials last week.
** Meanwhile, Dalgety says Republican Party is thriving in Victoria ahead of starting his Hunter Cup campaign in the Casey Classic at Melton on Saturday night.
“We are up against Leap To Fame and he has the good barrier and we don’t,” said Dalgety.
“So I don’t think we will be winning this week but he has worked super since he got here and I think he will be spot on for the big one next week.”