She is an apprentice jockey at 23 and Alana Kelly showed she has maturity and knowledge beyond her years with her victory aboard Zoe’s Promise in the Fillies Classic at Moonee Valley.
After leading the 1600m Group 2 feature worth $300,000 before the turn, Phillip Stokes’ fancied Climbing Star overtook her on the inside coming onto the straight and it could’ve been all over.
But Kelly summoned her three-year-old to fight back, and what a fightback it was after trailing by three-quarters of a length at the 100m mark.
2022 Fillies Classic Replay
Kelly’s judgement to stay a little wide in Heavy 8 conditions went a long way to helping her prevail for Daryl Cannon, the trainer saying the way she summed up the surface was spot-on.
“That was the plan to roll off the fence. Alana walked the track and said 2-3 off the fence is probably a good spot to be,” Cannon told Racing.com.
“I saw her get there just before the turn.
“She’s got a good repoire with the horse and she’s going to be a jockey with a future.”
Kelly thought she might have made her move a bit too early, but also backed her filly to peg back the deficit late on the straight.
“Obviously the track is playing a bit difficult today, and we’re all trying to ride the best we can and it paid off,” she said.
“I thought I made a blue coming out so early. I was looking for that bit of better ground off the corner.
“I knew she (Climbing Star) had such a great turn of foot that she actually put half a length on me.
“But she’s just so competitive that she pinned her back before the line.
“That’s what you work for. To do it for a little team like the Cannons, it’s absolutely phenomenal.”
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