Sunrise continues to repay the faith of her connections, producing another brilliant display at Randwick to back up her record-breaking effort at Kembla Grange.
Trained by Mitchell Beer, the talented filly smashed the 1000m track record at her home track first-up, and on Saturday she proved it was no fluke, leading all the way in the Midway Handicap (1100m).
With Rachel King in the saddle, the $1.80 favourite dictated from the front and surged further ahead in the straight, scoring a commanding 2-3/4 length win over Oakfield Badger ($8.50), with Everyone’s A Star ($5.50) a further long head away in third.
Purchased for $45,000 at the 2023 Magic Millions Broodmare Sale, Sunrise needed a full spring preparation to learn how to use her speed properly, according to Beer.
“I must thank the ownership group. Last preparation we knew how fast she was and we knew how good she was, but I said to them, ‘she’s not physically ready and not mentally ready’,” Beer said.
“When we got her, all she wanted to do in her trackwork was bolt and she also wanted to go in her races.
“We had to bite the bullet and teach her to settle so we could do this.”
Sunrise, now unbeaten this preparation, will likely be set for the Listed Denise’s Joy Stakes (1100m) at Scone in May.
Beer had contemplated sending her north for a Queensland black-type race but decided Randwick was the better option for her second-up outing.
“I had her in a Listed race in Brisbane today and she drew thirteen and obviously this looked a far better option,” he said.
“But I might take her to Scone and give her a crack while she is still three, see if she is up to that level.”
King praised how Sunrise settled mid-race, allowing her to finish off strongly in the heavy ground.
“I like the way I gave her a squeeze, but then mid-race she came back and got a couple of nice ones in there where I felt her take a couple of deep breaths and was able to get to the top of the rise quite comfortably.
“She feels like she will do better on a faster track. She is very genuine and very honest.”
