A slender winning distance belied the statement performance as Tempted affirmed her benchmark sprinting filly mantle in her cohort with a Group One Surround Stakes conquest radiating class.
Facing 1400m for the sophomore effort in her record, Tempted operated in low gear approaching the Randwick straight before striding out boldly, but Savvy Hallie held sway up front, obliging the three-year-old to battle fiercely.
With jockey Chad Schofield asking for her effort, the $1.60 choice’s brilliance asserted itself with a telling surge to deny Savvy Hallie ($10) by a long head, Ole Dancer ($9) the distant third another 1-3/4 lengths behind.
“Chad, he knew what he had underneath him. I was actually thinking, God, you can get a little more desperate’ halfway down the straight,” a relieved trainer Ciaron Maher said.
“The 14 (1400m) is probably right at the top of her distance range, as we’ve seen. She’s run second and now won at Group One level, but you’d think she is more dynamic at six (furlongs,1200m).”
Beaten into second by Hong Kong’s Ka Ying Rising in The Everest (1200m) during her three-year-old spring, Tempted could tackle the veteran sprinters anew in the T J Smith Stakes (1200m).
Maher, however, intends to touch base with Godolphin before deciding Tempted’s path forward, explicitly avoiding any global expeditions presently.
“I travelled a three-year-old filly in Coolangatta, and I thought it was a bit early for her,” Maher said.
“This horse, we know she does have a bit of a temperament, so I just thought, maybe a little bit later in life.”
Probed on Tempted’s place in his sprinting hierarchy, Maher rated her superior to 2024 Everest winner Bella Nipotina at equivalent maturity, her future achievements pending.
“She is definitely right up there. She ran second to the best sprinter in the world as a three-year-old. You’d think with furnishing, she is only going to get better,” he said.
Savvy Hallie’s connections savoured a poignant conclusion, admiring their filly’s spirit amid the agony of a razor-thin Group 1 reversal.
“Heartbreaking to get beaten,” jockey Nash Rawiller said.
“I loved her tenacity. She made Tempted really work for it. She was great.”
Second elect Apocalyptic faded to fourth, beaten five lengths, her jockey Tommy Berry revealing she was unbalanced throughout.
“She didn’t stretch out in the straight so it’s not the Apocalyptic we know,” Berry said.
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