Gutsy mare Sunshine In Paris all heart to land Doomben 10,000
Classy mare Sunshine In Paris (Invader) gained a deserved third Group 1 success on Saturday when toughing it out to deny the returning Rothfire (Rothesay) in a thrilling finish edition of the Doomben 10,000 (Gr 1, 1200m) in Queensland.
Having taken on the best sprinters in the land in her three previous starts this campaign, with a best-placed finish coming when a last-start third in the All Aged Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m), the Annabel and Rob Archibald-trained five-year-old was sent off the $3.30 favourite for Saturday’s contest under James McDonald.
Coming wide rounding the home bend, ‘J-Mac’ galvanised his mount down the home straight and the pair maintained a continuous run inside the final 200 metres to grab Rothfire on the line and score by 0.3 lengths in what proved to be a close-run finish.
There was a further 0.3 lengths back to Payline (Shooting To Win) in third place, and Rob Archibald praised his mare’s toughness on the track following the victory.
“I was getting pretty excited,” Rob Archibald said moments after the win. “I’m just so pleased for the mare, she’s been great all prep. She just hasn’t had a good draw, so I’m really pleased it worked out well.
“Thanks to her owners for being brave enough and supportive enough to run her on a track which probably isn’t to her liking.
“Annabel would have been cheering very loudly back home, she loves this mare as does everyone involved with her.
“It worked out really well. James [McDonald] came and galloped her a couple of weeks ago and said she’s spot on, which gave us all the confidence we needed. We were still a bit worried about the ground, but we didn’t need to in the end because it all worked out very well.
“Rothfire was very brave and he’s a very good horse in his own right. So it was a real fight over the last 50 metres, and I’m just so pleased she managed to get her head in front.”
McDonald, who was adding a 117th elite-level victory to his CV, but was winning the Doomben 10,000 for the first time and he was also full of praise for the daughter of Invader (Snitzel).
“She thoroughly deserved this win,” the winning rider said. “She’s been competing against the best horses all the way through the autumn.
“She was very tough and it’s great to get a big result for the Archibald team. They’ve done an extremely good job with this mare.
“Rothfire was as tough as they come. I was worried at the furlong that we weren’t going to get to him, but he probably had a tougher run than we did and my mare kept on surging. He gave us one hell of a fright.”
Originally sold to Champagne Bloodstock out of the Blue Sky Premium Consignment for $90,000 as an unraced two-year-old at the 2022 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.
Following her win in the Surround Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m), Sunshine In Paris then made $3.9 million at the same sale the following year, selling to James Harron Bloodstock, who was acting on behalf of John Camilleri’s Fairway Thoroughbreds – in whose colours she now races. A few months later, she repaid her new connections when adding a second Group 1 to her record in the Champions Sprint (Gr 1, 1200m) at Flemington.
Bred by Aquis, the mare now has a record that stands at seven wins and a further five placings from a mere 17 career outings with her prize-money haul now over the $6 million mark following Saturday’s win in the $1.5 million Doomben 10,000.
Sunshine In Paris is a three-quarter sister to Group 3 winner Macroura (Snitzel) being out of the Zabeel (Sir Tristram) mare Zenaida, herself a half-sister to three-time Group 1 scorer Vosne Romanee (Electric Zone).
Zenaida sold for $1.4 million and Macroura sold for $1.5 million at the 2023 National Broodmare Sale, with both mares going to Yulong. Zenaida produced a filly by Alabama Express (Redoute’s Choice) last year and then went back to him again, while Macroura missed to Pierata (Pierro) and then went back to him again.