Damien Oliver’s decision to ride Miss Rose De Lago paid dividends when he steered the talented mare to victory in the 2016 P.B. Lawrence Stakes at Caulfield this afternoon.
Miss Rose De Lago scored one of the biggest wins of her career in the 2016 P.B. Lawrence Stakes at Caulfield this afternoon. Photo by: Ultimate Racing Photos
The presence of The Cleaner and Lord Of The Sky meant that there was always going to be plenty of speed in the P.B. Lawrence Stakes and that was the case as the two horses took each other on in the early stages.
Miss Rose De Lago received a lovely trail into the race as The Cleaner and Lord Of The Sky tired very quickly and she out toughed Jacquinot Bay to the line to record an impressive P.B. Lawrence Stakes victory.
Oliver declined the ride on Suavito to partner Miss Rose De Lago in the P.B. Lawrence Stakes and he revealed after the race that he was very keen on the talented mare following her two impressive trials in the lead-up to this race.
“Full credit to Danny O’Brien, he got her going great for her first-up effort in this race and she ran right up to her trials,” O’Brien said.
“I was happy to be riding her the way she has been going and it was nice to get one for the Western Australian connections.”
Trainer Danny O’Brien revealed after the race that his plan was to always to run Miss Rose De Lago in the P.B. Lawrence Stakes in an attempt to get a win before the top-line horses return to the races and he was delighted that the plan had come together.
O’Brien said that Miss Rose De Lago would have her next race start in the Group 2 Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes (1600m) at Moonee Valley on September 3 before she potentially heads to a race like the Group 1 Toorak Handicap (1600m) at Caulfield.
“She has a great record here and it all went to plan for her today,” O’Brien said.
“She needs that really solid tempo to be effective at 1400 because a mile and even further is probably better for her, but we obviously got a very strong race and she was able to soak it up and still be strong on the line.
“We had a look at the program and the mares races don’t stretch out until a bit later in the spring and we thought it was a good time to test her against the boys.
“There is three weeks now to the Feehan (Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes) and it looks a good progression.
“The real top line horses will be here in a fortnight in the Memsie and we have found the weaker leg.
“You would love to win a Group 1 with her – she has won two Group 2s in her last three starts – and we will get these early ones out of the way.”
The Cleaner eventually took a sit behind Lord Of The Sky, but had no gas in the tank late, while the Ciaron Maher-trained duo of Jameka and Set Square both produced eye-catching performances.
