‘Electric’ Deep Field filly sizzles home to take out Gold Edition Plate
Isotope scores unlikely Listed win to surge into Magic Millions Guineas favouritism
Tony Gollan has always believed Isotope (Deep Field) was a special filly but yesterday the three-year-old produced a performance which left jockey Ryan Maloney “gobsmacked” after coming from a seemingly impossible position to land the Gold Edition Plate (Listed, 1200m).
Isotope, who demonstrated her immense talent as an autumn two-year-old with a ten-length maiden victory in April, was forced to overcome a slow getaway at Doomben to run down reigning Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) champion Away Game (Snitzel) in the $200,000 Listed feature.
“That was a remarkable effort. I just haven’t had one who has done what she did,” Maloney revealed after the race.
“Alligator Blood had a really good turn of foot, but she was just so electric. You don’t do that from where she was and to give them that start with the run the second horse had and the form behind her, I’m gobsmacked.”
Brisbane’s leading trainer, Gollan admitted to thinking Isotope would not be able to run down Away Game when Maloney was well back in the field and looking for runs heading into the straight.
“I know Ryan is pretty cool in the saddle, but I don’t really know how we ended up where we did. It wasn’t by design, I can tell you, but he never panicked under pressure and he had a bloody good filly underneath him,” Gollan told Sky Racing.
“We weren’t chasing a slow one and she gave a really good kick. I’ve trained a lot of winners here at Doomben and when they kick like Away Game did off the dip, you are normally pretty comfortable that you are going to win the race.
“I thought we were going to run a nice second and that we could take a lot out of it going into the Millions, but she got the job done. She’s just a bloody good filly.
“She is cool, calm and collected and if there were any worries about her getting 1400 metres, there’s no worries (after) today. She is brilliant. I can’t speak highly enough of this filly.”
Maloney said Isotope, who underwent some barrier reeducation at Washpool Lodge after experiencing a mishap when runner-up at Doomben first-up on November 7, admitted to being on the “back foot from the get-go” yesterday.
“She was good in the gates, but the barrier attendant wanted to get up with her and I just said, ‘no, no, just leave her’ and she just stepped away slowly and I didn’t have the horse to muster,” he said.
“I was on the back foot from the get-go and, the more the race went on, the more expletives were going through my head. The horses in front of me just kept coming back into our lap.
“I eventually got out at the top of the straight and I saw the Ciaron Maher horse, Away Game, who had a good margin and had a good run and I was thinking, ‘this is not her day and she’s going to run a nice second’ but she kept picking up and picking up and I thought she was going to give it a shake.
“Then all my thoughts went out of my head and I just hoped that she got it.”
Isotope ($1.50 favourite) defeated Away Game ($4.20) by a long head with three and a quarter lengths back to Apache Chase (Better Than Ready) ($91).
The Gold Edition was Isotope’s second stakes win in succession, having won the Mode Plate (Listed, 1200m) a fortnight earlier at Doomben, and Gollan plans to keep the filly away from the races until the Magic Millions 3YO Guineas (RL, 1400m) at the Gold Coast on January 16.
A rematch is likely with the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Away Game, who is also likely to bypass the Vo Rogue Plate (Gr 3, 1400m) on January 2.
“We’ll give her an easy time in the paddock, on the treadmill, then a couple of nice gallops and maybe a trial in between before you see her on Millions day,” Gollan said.
“She’s the real deal, this filly, and she beat a good filly in Away Game, take nothing away from her, but she is pretty good, this one.”
Isotope ($4.50 to $3 favourite) and Away Game ($8 to $6) both firmed in betting for the $2 million Guineas on the back of their respective runs yesterday.
Gollan said: “It’s always good when good horses race against each other and she delivered what I thought of her from before we ever raced her.
“We haven’t had a really good one for a few years I guess, but she’s pretty special and she can do a really good job for our stable.”
One of a batch of talented three-year-olds secured by Brian Siesmen’s and Harry McAlpine’s Black Soil Bloodstock operation in conjunction with respected agent John Foote and Gollan Racing at the 2019 yearling sales, Isotope was a $170,000 purchase at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale from the draft of Daandine Stud.
The first foal to race out of Great Dansaar (Choisir), a Sydney metropolitan-placed, three-time winner who is a half-sister to dual Group 1-winning filly Yankee Rose (All American), Isotope has won four of her seven starts and has earnings of $290,625.
Great Dansaar, who was purchased by Daandine Stud and Boomer Bloodstock for $80,000 at the 2016 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, has an unraced two-year-old filly by Winning Rupert (Written Tycoon) named Rupertaar in training with Bjorn Baker for Darby Syndications and a Sebring (More Than Ready) yearling colt who will be offered as Lot 357 at next month’s Magic Millions sale.
She had a filly by Spirit Of Boom (Sequalo) born on August 9 this year and is back in foal to Isotope’s sire Deep Field (Northern Meteor) with an early cover this year.