Machine Gun Gracie, the previous season’s WA Oaks–WA Derby double getter, fired back into championship mode with a breathtaking showing in Saturday’s Group 3 $250,000 Epona Stakes (1900m) at Rosehill Gardens.
Newly aligned with the Lindsay Park partnership of JD, Ben and Will Hayes brothers, she grabbed her first victory since those Perth highlights nearing a year earlier – promising additional top-tier results.
“She’s got plenty of X-Factor,” Jd Hayes said.
“We’ll have a good chat and debrief with the team and the connections here, have a few cold ones and enjoy today. Then work out where we’re going, because I think a mare of her calibre, we will have plenty of options.”
At $17 starting price, Machine Gun Gracie shrugged off challengers to annex the Epona Stakes by two lengths, ahead of Polymnia ($5.50) and Placid Pearl ($101) in the frame for third.
The $2.60 favourite Pinito for Godolphin veered broadly turning for home and ended up ninth in a flat effort. Her second run for Hayes came after tuition from Justine Erkelens in Perth.
Erkelens continues with ownership involvement in the mare and was on course witnessing the Epona Stakes demolition.
“They saw our facilities (Lindsay Park) and thought it would really suit ‘Gracie’, so we’re just very lucky in that regard that she got sent our way,” Hayes said,”She’s gone from strength to strength and she’s got plenty of upside. We’ve always had a high opinion of her and it’s good to see her convert here today.”
Luke Currie granted Machine Gun Gracie a perfect trip, capped by her explosive finish that overwhelmed the opposition.
“In Perth she raced on speed and was really strong but last time she was a bit sticky out first-up and I just rode her quietly from there,” Currie said.
“But she had the barrier extension on today because she’s so big she doesn’t fit in the gates so well. She gets very uncomfortable and I thought that’s what happened last time.
“She still didn’t begin the fastest, so I had to just give her a little nudge, but she got there and switched straight off and pricked her ears. She always travelled nice and kind, off a nice tempo, and was always going to be hard to beat.”
Check sports betting options and racing odds for similar high-class races to the Epona Stakes.