A decision to wait for the Blue Sapphire Stakes with Anaheed has been rewarded for her connections after the filly raced to victory in the Group Three sprint at Caulfield.
The Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Anaheed had been an acceptor in last Saturday’s Group Three Thoroughbred Club Stakes (1200m) for fillies in which she had 58kg but was scratched and instead ran in Saturday’s Blue Sapphire for three-year-olds with 55kg.
“We scratched for the lighter weight,” the Snowden team’s Melbourne stable foreman Andrew Angelone said.
“It was a good call by Peter and Paul.”
The Thoroughbred Club Stakes was also won impressively by Anaheed’s stablemate California Zimbol.
Anaheed settled just in behind the lead in Wednesday’s race and when the field fanned out coming around the home turn jockey Damian Lane was able to cut the corner on Anaheed and take an inside run.
Anaheed ($7.50) sprinted to the front and raced to a one length victory over Li’l Kontra who fought on well in the straight after a wide run.
Brooklyn Hustle was another nose away third.
Anaheed took her record to four wins from 10 starts having won three times as a juvenile including the Group Two Sweet Embrace Stakes and also the Group Two Percy Sykes Stakes in which she beat subsequent Thousand Guineas winner Flit.
The filly had raced twice this season in Sydney including a fifth in the Tea Rose Stakes last start won by Funstar.
Angelone believes a little bit of rain on Wednesday helped Anaheed get a surface she enjoyed.
“But she’s a very good filly and we’ve always known that. It was good to see her perform today,” Angelone said.
Lane said Anaheed had the right formlines to make her mark in Wednesday’s race and while she had not won in Melbourne before the filly did finish fifth in a Blue Diamond Preview at Caulfield early this year in her only previous Melbourne start.
“She’s raced here before and handled that without any problems,” Lane said.
