Stewart rides Vanna Girl to winter glory
JOCKEY Brad Stewart put the icing on a wonderful winter with an outstanding ride to win the Group 2 The Roses at Eagle Farm.
It also completed a great carnival for the Toby and Trent Edmonds training partnership, who have won six winter stakes races including the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap.
A warm favourite, Vanna Girl ($2.10) made it four wins in a row when she came back from well back in the field to beat Cellarmaid ($31) with Sydney’s Celestial Falls ($5) in third place.
The filly drew barrier 13 which is usually a major problem from the 1800m start at Eagle Farm.
But Stewart took the draw out of the equation when he was able to get across one off the fence after 300m before working his way to the outside on the straight. Vanna Girl will now have a break before heading for the Melbourne spring carnival.
Trent Edmonds was full of praise for Stewart and Vanna Girl who now has a career record of nine starts for six wins.
“What a ride from Brad. Vanna Girl is so versatile she can lead or get back but you still have to make the right decisions,” Edmonds said.
Edmonds said Vanna Girl would not be out of place no matter what she contested in Melbourne.
“We will probably concentrate on the fillies and mares races but she will be entered for everything,” Edmonds said.
Meanwhile, the Brisbane winter always produces a feel-good story and this year it was the Toowoomba mare Love You Lucy’s win in the Group 2 Dane Ripper Stakes also at Eagle Farm.
The homebred and her veteran jockey Glen Colless tackled some of Australia’s best mares and scored a barnstorming win at $41.
Trainer Barry Squair said he had been confident after Love You Lucy confirmed she was up to top class when winning the Listed Silk Stocking at the Gold Coast.
“She was an unlucky ninth in the Listed Helen Coughlan Stakes two weeks ago. I thought she would handle the 1400m,” Squair said.
“I wanted an experienced jockey so I got Glen when a couple of others wouldn’t ride her.”
Toowoomba trainer Squair has done an outstanding job with Love You Lucy who has eight wins, five seconds and a third from 19 starts.