Sweet success for Within The Law
Having run second behind Rivellino (Too Darn Hot) in the Inglis Millennium (RL, 1100m) on February 8, Within The Law (Lucky Vega) did her part to strengthen that formline and stake her claim for Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) glory by taking out the fillies’ Sweet Embrace Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) at Randwick.
The daughter of first-season sire Lucky Vega (Lope De Vega) unleashed a blistering turn of foot down the outside of the track under Jason Collett to deny $3.50 favourite and last-start Lonhro Plate (Listed, 1000m) winner Bellazaine (Zousain) by 0.1 lengths, with Snitzel Miss (Snitzel) another 0.7 lengths back in third.
It was a two-year-old double for Collett, who had delivered aboard the Bjorn Baker-trained filly’s last-start conqueror just 35 minutes earlier and is now presented with a choice between the juveniles for the Golden Slipper.
“She just keeps lifting the bar,” Collett said. “She had a lot of work to do there and nothing went right from the get-go, really, but she still managed to come out on top.
“We got squeezed pretty heavily coming out of the gate, I had no forward momentum whatsoever, and I was caught wide.
“I sort of got the back of Snitzel Miss and then I was working on the turn. I wanted to get going and get her into it a bit earlier today than last start but then I saw Gai’s runner [Bellazaine] and thought ‘I might have a bit too much work to do here’.
“She was strong late but she probably didn’t get to see Bellazaine until the last bit which was just about too late.
“I’m known to get these decisions wrong so hopefully I can make the right one this time, but it’s nice to be in this position. They are both very good two-year-olds and there was merit in both their wins.”
Her late-closing win saw Within The Law firm into $11 (from $15) for the Golden Slipper at Rosehill on March 22, and Baker confirmed that would be the next target.
“That was phenomenal. In the run nothing went right. She couldn’t have got any further off the track and to just see her keep coming, I still didn’t think she was going to get there halfway down the straight,” the winning trainer said.
“She’s been like this the whole time, she’s got so much heart and she doesn’t know how to run a bad race.
“Definitely exciting for her, she’s a really lovely filly. And to put her hand up today and get a run in the Slipper, before today she had zero prize-money [for the Slipper] unfortunately, but she goes there as a live chance.
Bred by Yulong Stud, Within The Law was purchased for just $30,000 by Darby Racing at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale in 2024, and Baker was full of praise for the filly’s owners.
“They’re phenomenal,” he said. “They just back up all the time finding these horses. They just do a wonderful job and she was a $30,000 purchase.”
Within The Law (2 f Lucky Vega – Contract Signed by Dundeel) is the first foal from Dundeel (High Chaparral) mare Contract Signed, who produced a colt by Tagaloa (Lord Kanaloa) in 2023.
Now a three-time stakes winner from just four starts, Within The Law was the first at black–type level for her Yulong sire Lucky Vega when taking out the Inglis Banner (RL, 1000m) on debut in November, and on Saturday provided him his first winner at Group level.