Stand My Ground has made a successful return to racing, achieving a first-up victory in the $500,000 Four Pillars Midway (1500m) at Royal Randwick today. Following the impressive win, trainer Marc Chevalier outlined his future plans.
“We are already thinking about the Five Diamonds, 2027 – but we might have a few runs before,” Chevalier shared. This forward-looking strategy for Stand My Ground is testament to the outstanding training effort that saw the mare primed for a winning debut in the Four Pillars.
Chevalier admitted that the Four Pillars had been a focus since his filly’s unplaced run in the ATC Australian Oaks at Randwick last April, where she finished behind the ill-fated Ohope Wins. “We have been preparing this mare for (the Four Pillars) the past six months,” Chevalier stated. “After the Oaks, we decided to give her a good break, bring her back in 15 weeks before the Four Pillars and we would get her ready off two (barrier) trials and she would be ready to win. Everything has been spot on and this is a very sweet feeling.”
Under a well-judged ride from Tyler Schiller, Stand My Ground ($10) dug deep to hold off the fast-finishing Cuban Cigar ($7) by a half-head. Magical Moments ($8) claimed third place, finishing just over two lengths behind the winner.
The $6.50 favourite, Dusty Bay, set the pace into the straight but could not sustain its effort, ultimately finishing 10th. Alabama State ($7), carrying the top weight, raced prominently outside the leader before finishing seventh.
Schiller expressed his high praise for the mare and her trainer after the Four Pillars race. “She is such a tough horse,” Schiller said. “And for Marc to get her to win first up over 1500m in a tough race, with that weight, it’s a great training effort. She had a tough run from a wide barrier. I got a bit of cover early, which I thought was great. She is a big momentum horse and probably got there a touch soon but she quickened well up the rise. To her credit she just kept toughing it out. That horse joined her probably 100m out and she wouldn’t let it get past her.”
Chevalier highlighted Stand My Ground’s potential, demonstrated by her Four Pillars victory first-up after a spell. She had previously contested the Oaks last autumn in only her fourth career start. “After the Oaks in autumn, we thought about going to Queensland but decided to give her three months out and ‘prep’ her for this race,” Chevalier noted. “She had a little hiccup with a temperature on the morning of her first-up run back in the autumn so we missed a run. She went second-up in the Vinery and she was only beaten less than a length, so we knew we had a good filly at that time. In the Oaks, she didn’t quite run the trip but I’m confident she will run 2400m ridden conservative. But she proved today that she is a quality mare because 1500m is not her trip, she is only warming up now.”
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