Allan Denham-trained filly Ichihara returned to the form that made her a stakes winner as a two-year-old when serving up a dominant win in the Listed Heritage Stakes (1100m) at Randwick today.

Ichihara scores a dominant win in the Listed Heritage Stakes. Photo by: Steve Hart

The three-year-old got out of the gates well and jockey Brenton Avdulla was happy to sit just off the speed as Raceway took the lead up front.

At the turn Avdulla called upon his mount and she responded in terrific fashion to find an extra gear and finish off the race unchallenged and two lengths clear of eventual placegetters Villa Splendido and Agueda.

It was the second run of the General Nedyim filly’s campaign and she showed she had taken plenty of fitness out of a first-up fourth in the Silver Shadow Stakes.

Avdulla was always confident she would perform and was happy to take advantage of a slick tempo set by Raceway on the inside.

“I was confident today that she’d run well. Allan gave me the confidence. He said if you can get a nice run on speed she’ll be hard to beat,” Avdulla told TVN.

“We rolled along at a nice tempo. It was actually good to have Raceway up on the inside and lead me.

“She hasn’t been in that position before, it just got her to switch off nice and take me to the corner.

“When I kicked her into gear at the top of the straight I just thought catch me if you can and she really dashed today. That’s probably the best she’s dashed in her career.”

Denham said the weight she received in next weekend’s Reginald Allen Quality (1200m) would determine whether her next test comes there on in the following week’s Roman Consul Stakes (1200m).