She’s Extreme and Rise Of The Masses grab final Slipper spots
Newgate Farm stallions will once again be strongly represented in next week’s Rosehill Group 1 contest
Talented juveniles She’s Extreme (Extreme Choice) and Rise Of The Masses (Russian Revolution) booked their spots in next Saturday’s Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) with respective victories in yesterday’s Magic Night Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) and Pago Pago Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) and, in the process, the pair also further tightened the stranglehold stallions from Newgate Farm have on the coveted Sydney Group 1.
In last year’s renewal of the Golden Slipper, stallion residents of the Hunter Valley nursery were represented by five runners, including the eventual winner Stay Inside, who, like She’s Extreme, is by Extreme Choice (Not A Single Doubt), while this year the farm’s stallions are likely to account for a minimum of six runners.
As it stands, with just today’s Black Opal Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) at Canberra to determine the final field, three of this season’s juveniles filling Golden Slipper berths are by their champion first-season sire-in-waiting Russian Revolution (Snitzel), including yesterday’s Pago Pago Stakes winner Rise Of The Masses.
Magic Night Stakes winner She’s Extreme, who is trained by Anthony Cummings, had been unlucky not to get her head in front on two previous starts and the market recognised the filly’s enormous potential, sending her off the well-backed $3.50 favourite. But luck was finally on her side yesterday, with the two-year-old charting a dream run under Tommy Berry, as she let down impressively to pull a length and a half clear of Magic Carpet (Lonhro), who is trained by Cummings’ son James. Swift Sweet (Snitzel) was another two lengths adrift in third.
After the race, Cummings admitted he had given up on She’s Extreme gaining a berth in the Golden Slipper when she was beaten into second in the Sweet Embrace Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) on February 26.
However, the filly had coped so well with her racing, a fact which gave Cummings the confidence to target yesterday’s Group 3 and he now believes she will have no issues with the quick back-up next week.
“A month ago, I didn’t think that that would suit. But she has surprised me every time with the way she has bounced back from each run,” Cummings said.
“After her last run, I had given up hope of being in the Slipper at all, but she came back and talked me into going today and I’m expecting she will do exactly the same (this week).”
She’s Extreme will likely have to navigate the Group 1 feature without yesterday’s rider Berry, who is on the hunt for a second consecutive win in the Slipper having steered Stay Inside to victory 12 months ago.
The jockey is expected to ride either Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) runner-up Russian Conquest (Russian Revolution) or today’s Black Opal Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) contender Metallicity (Zoustar) in next weekend’s Rosehill feature, but Berry said She’s Extreme’s performance yesterday had him pondering whether he should partner her instead.
“I thought I had my ride, but she was very impressive today,” Berry said.
“This track is very heavy. I can’t see it drying out too much towards next week, especially with a bit of rain coming. She has a nice bit of timing about her.”
In winning the Group 3, She’s Extreme (2 f Extreme Choice – Keysbrook by So Secret) handed Newgate Farm’s stallion’s star sire Extreme Choice his seventh individual stakes winner. The stallion’s struggles with fertility have been well documented, but his statistics make for extraordinary reading, with his stakes-winners-to-runners strike-rate an impressive 18.9 per cent.
The filly was purchased by One Plus Investments for $32,500 from breeders Aquis Farm via the Inglis June Late Online Sale in 2020, before being snapped up by her trainer for $275,000 from the Willow Park Stud draft at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale the following year.
She’s Extreme is one of two winners out of the Group 2-placed So Secret (Danetime) mare Keysbrook, herself a half-sister to Listed winner Brasileira (Commands).
In 2020, Keysbrook produced a filly by Aquis Farm resident Lean Mean Machine (Zoustar) that was purchased by trainer Dan Morton for $150,000 at the Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale last month, having been bought by David Hanratty for $45,000 at the Magic Millions National Weanling Sale the previous year.
When She’s Extreme lines up in next weekend’s Golden Slipper Stakes she will be attempting to become the seventh filly to complete the Magic Night Stakes – Golden Slipper double, along with Kiamichi (Sidestep), who was trained by Anthony’s son, James, the last to land the achieve the feat, winning both races in 2019.
In contrast, the Pago Pago Stakes has not been so kind to those backing up in the Golden Slipper a week later, with only three horses having landed the Group 3 en route to triumph in the Rosehill Group 1, with Stratum (Redoute’s Choice) the last colt to land the double in 2005.
However, trainer Gai Waterhouse knowns a thing or two about training winners of the Golden Slipper and the team at Tulloch Lodge are confident Rise Of The Masses can hand the evergreen trainer her eighth Slipper crown and second since she and Adrian Bott joined forces, with Farnan (Not A Single Doubt) providing the partnership their first Golden Slipper win in 2020.
Ridden by Tim Clark, the Sir Owen Glenn-owned colt showed an eye-catching turn of foot to pull half a length clear of the Annabel Neasham-trained Sweet Ride (Deep Field), who has banked enough prize-money to also book himself a shot at the Slipper next weekend. The Hawkes-trained $2.5 million yearling Magic (Snitzel) was another length and a quarter away in third.
Rise Of The Masses broke his maiden when landing a 1000-metre maiden event at Kembla Grange on debut on December 11, after which he was sent for a spell. The colt finished third in the Pierro Plate (1100m) first-up this preparation, before running second in the Skyline Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) on February 26.
Bott said the team always had a high opinion of the colt and he was pleased to see him live up to his billing in yesterday’s Group 3.
“Rise Of The Masses is a horse we have always had a good opinion of so I think he is very deserving of his place in the Slipper, should (owner) Sir Owen Glenn want to take him that way,’’ Bott said.
“But I do feel he would make his presence felt. He is just starting to put it together.
“Even today, he was wandering around a little bit and wasn’t able to quite put the race away but when he got into a fight he really knuckled down to win and was very strong late.’’
Clark echoed Bott’s sentiments and said the colt would not have any issues with the quick back-up into next Saturday.
“I think they (two-year-olds) are a very even bunch so he probably doesn’t have to improve a lot,’’ Clark said.
“Gai has won plenty of them so she knows what she is doing, I won’t question her. He’s definitely continuing to learn and improving with every run. Hopefully he’s peaking at the right time.
“I think if he happens to get into a race where they go really fast and he actually doesn’t have to lead, with one to chase, he will be better.”
With yesterday’s triumph, Rise Of The Masses (2 c Russian Revolution – Ruud Awakening by Bernardini) became Russian Revolution’s second stakes winner and also strengthened the stallion’s ironclad grip in the race to be crowned Australia’s champion first-season sire this season. The son of Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) is sitting atop the first-season sire leaderboard by earnings, with his progeny having won $1,353,645 in prize-money, $681,500 ahead of The Mission (Choisir), who lies in second.
Bred and raced by Go Bloodstock, Rise Of The Masses is out of Group 1-winning mare Ruud Awakening (Bernardini), whose five victories were headed by wins in the 2013 Karaka 2YO Million (RL, 1200m) and 2013 Sistema Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m).
Ruud Awakening has a yearling filly by I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) and she will be offered by Newgate Farm as Lot 393 at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, which gets underway in Sydney on April 5. Last year, the mare produced a filly by Arrowfield Stud’s multiple champion sire Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice), who is a three-quarter sibling to Rise Of The Masses, and Ruud Awakening has most recently been covered by Russian Revolution’s barnmate Extreme Choice.
Russian Revolution stood his fourth season at Newgate Farm in 2021 for a fee of $44,000 (inc GST).
Golden Slipper field – as it stands
Horse (Sire) Prize-money ($)
Sejardan (Sebring) (Ballot Exempt) 1,032,700
Fireburn (Rebel Dane) (BE) 237,250
Best Of Bordeaux (Snitzel) (BE) 226,250
Seven Veils (Shalaa) (BE) 181,650
She’s Extreme (Extreme Choice) (BE) 133,600
Rise Of The Masses (Russian Revolution) (BE) 165,815
Daumier (Epaulette) 1,077,000
Revolutionary Miss (Russian Revolution) 504,400
Coolangatta (Written Tycoon) 229,000
Shalatin (Shalaa) 225,950
Jacquinot (Rubick) 214,000
Ojai (Exceed And Excel) 202,825
Sebonack (Capitalist) 187,500
Sweet Ride (Deep Field) 186,000
Lady Laguna (Overshare) 147,200
Russian Conquest (Russian Revolution) 137,850
Black Opal contenders
Queen Of The Ball (I Am Invincible) ($114,125), Troach (Epaulette) ($42,000)