The Matriarch – Grade I
1 Mile Turf Stake Purse $300.000 Filly & Mare 3 Year Olds And Up.

1st Lady Hilltopper Black N Gold Stable Gutierrez Mario 1:32.91

Whilst the stable has some other good horses, this mare is without a doubt is the stable flagship and one that has been a wonderful horse to watch over the years. Believe it or not this winner of 13 races and over $2,000.000 in prize money has never won a grade one before and this was a fitting end to arguably her best ever season. The key for her today was to keep up over this mile and whilst she had to dig deep and grind out the win, she did it without flinching and had a neck to spare on the line. I feel she has been well enough campaigned to have another good year next year, and I would expect to see her once again trying to win that elusive BC title.

2nd= Gormley Royalty Stables Buick W T 1:32.97

The three-year-olds used to get their bump much earlier in the year but these days it isn’t until we get to the end of the season that they have moved far enough up their improvement curve to compete with the older horses and that was demonstrated perfectly today by this filly who hadn’t been able to bother the older horses until now. She may have found the mile a bit sharp as she was running all the way to the line, but she did enough to get within 6/100ths of a second of one of the best older mares in the game and that says all you need to know. She should make a nice four-year-old, and I will look forward to seeing how she does next year.

2nd= Mundi Moon High Voltage Lopez P 1:32.97

Tried to make all the running and very nearly pulled it off but in the end went down by a neck in a share for second. She has improved steadily during the year and could be in for a good year in 2025.

4th Wander Mb Stables Velazquez J R 1:33.11

Ran pretty much the same race as she did over this course and distance in the Goldikova and the final race time was almost the same too, that day she won by an easy two lengths today she just kept on at the one pace for fourth. The pace of the race was slower early on and that may have blunted her finish a little as they quickened from halfway, but I was still a little confused by her effort after looking so strong last time out.

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES