The John Thompson-trained Bel Merci ($3.70) made a mess of rivals in the Group 3 Gimcrack Stakes (1000m) at Randwick on Saturday afternoon, making every post a winner to claim a dominant 1.4-length win against the girls.
The daughter of Extreme Choice was ridden up to hold a position from barrier two under Chad Schofield, and it proved to be an early winning move, as the two-year-old filly travelled beautifully throughout the 1000m contest.
She wasn’t left alone, however, with O’ Ole ($8.00) keeping her honest by sitting to her outside in the early stages, while Memo ($4.60) and Tupakara ($7.50) had no choice but to drag back in the 14-horse field.
The later pair chased gallantly, but it was all in vain as Bel Merci never looked in danger turning for home, and once asked for the ultimate effort by Schofield, the promising two-year-old cruised to victory and stamped herself as an early contender for the Group 1 Golden Slipper (1200m) in the autumn.
2024 Group 3 Gimcrack Stakes Replay – Bel Merci
John Thompson confirmed the Golden Slipper would be the major target for Bel Merci as she returns to the paddock after securing victory on Saturday.
“Super,” said Thompson.
“She’s a lovely filly. I’m just so rapt for the breeders, Bell River (Bell River Thoroughbreds), just a lovely filly.
“She’s a star, don’t worry about that. She’s not trained up at all, that’s not me. That’s just pure, natural ability there. Spell, Slipper.
“She’s just a natural. She jumped out here before the official two-year-old trials. She was six lengths in front around the home corner and won by 12 (lengths) in her jump-out. She’s just a natural two-year-old with ability.”
Chad Schofield echoed the thoughts of John Thompson in his post-race assessment, suggesting there was still plenty left to come for Bel Merci.
“She’s very smart,” said Schofield.
“She just helps herself, she’s got such a good brain on her for such a young, inexperienced horse. I just want to thank John Thompson.
“He’s been a great supporter of mine for a while and he said to me two months ago, ‘come and gallop a little filly, I think she’s quite smart’.
“He knew how good she was and she was just prepared and trained so well for today. She was bombproof and it made my job very easy.
“She’s very sensible and she’s very mature for a young horse. Yeah, she was just as she always is, very quiet, very tractable. I was never going to lead but I just wanted to make sure we stepped well, being her first start.
“She’s a very smart filly and well done to John and his team. They’ve educated her, brought her here today in a great frame of mind. She was very mature, very sensible and she knew what she was doing.”
The fillies recorded a slower overall time compared to the boys in the Group 3 Breeders’ Plate (1000m) in the race prior, however, the visually dominant victory has horse racing bookmakers making her a clear $17.00 favourite in futures markets for the 2025 Golden Slipper.
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