Hirsch Stakes – Grade I [BC]
1 1/16 Mile Dirt Stake Purse $300.000 Filly & Mare 3 Year Olds And Up.

1 Conspiring, trained by Mb Stables
I guess the question on everyones lips was whether this daughter of Commanding was being used as a pacemaker for Lea and to be honest those questions may still remain after this remarkable win. Sluggishly away the outside speed push saw this three year old pushed up onto the speed soon after and she had to travel three and four wide for the whole trip to stay there. Rarely can a horse survive from the wide gate and on the speed so this win was not only remarkable because of other factors but remarkable in the fact that she was beaten off on the turn but battled back in a manner i havent seen for many years. Her nose win could well have been three with an easy inside trip so this is without a doubt one of the best and most game wins of the season so far.
With only three starts before this race, a 13 length defeat at the free track, an easy maiden win and then a scrambling win in a statebred stakes race there was little to recommend her chances before the off but as i have said many many times HRP has become a strange place and this filly pretty much summed it all up perfectly. All she needed was to be working as quick as the rest, add on the weight allowance and viola we have a winner, forget form, forget draw, those two factors seem to trump everything these days. It will be very interesting to see how she measures up to the other three year old fillies come the BC.

2 Viking Vania, trained by Delta Farms
She took up a perfect position from the gate stalking the early leaders and inside the eventual winner. I must admit as the leader and eventual winner lost the lead rounding the home bend i expected her to come away and win but after an epic battle to the line she just failed in the very last stride. This was a super performance by the three year old who only won her maiden 4 months ago but the weight allowance, obvious improvement and some excellent training see’s her rise to the very top few rungs of the fillies ladder. Of course take away the weight allowance and give her the outside trip and things may have been different but for now atleast her trainer can take all sorts of positives from this great performance.

3 Shake It Off, trained by Our Athletes
She won the B race for the older horses and ran a cracker to be third. Without the weight allowance she would’ve won this so her trainer should be really proud of her effort. With five grade ones in a row she hasnt been beaten more than 3 lengths in any of them and has cashed a cheque in all five, a great effort for a filly that will be right in it come BC time.

4 Dirty Deeds, trained by Aer Stables
She was in the right place at the right time but just couldnt find the finishing kick she found in the La Troienne and ended up a close fourth. In a race that all came down to work times and weight allowances she was always fighting a losing battle but this run was good enough to suggest that as the weight allowance gets less she will be right in the action come BC time.

SUMMARY
I really thought that the older horses could beat the three year olds in this race but things have become almost farcical at HRP with the three year old weight allowances and it looks almost impossible to bet against the younger generation now.

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES