The Group 3 Typhoon Tracy Stakes (1200m) delivered the upset of the night at Moonee Valley’s meeting on Friday. While every winner from the other seven races had a single digit starting price, Written Dash won the feature race at odds of $101 at Ladbrokes.com.au.
Written Dash (inside, yellow cap), seen here in a previous race, scored an upset win in the Typhoon Tracy Stakes. Photo by Adrienne Bicknell.
The absolute roughie outsider scored a strong win in the $150,000 race, finishing one length clear of Royal Snitzel ($4.40) while Matilija ($6.50) was three-quarters of a length away in third.
Race favourite Sistonic could only manage fourth, putting an end to the three-quarter sister of Black Caviar’s previous unbeaten streak from her first two starts.
It was an emotional win for jockey Dean Yendall, who had buried his late grandmother just hours before. He believes she was watching over him and may have had a hand in creating the gaps that helped him speed through a tricky position entering the straight with Written Dash, which helped them go on to score the win.
“Five-hundred (metres) from home I was ‘smoking’, but obviously going to need a lot of luck,” Yendall told Racing Victoria after the race.
“I think nan might have helped me out there and everything just worked out perfectly. She actually had a bit of a look when I got to the front about 100 out, so it was a pretty good win.”
It was likewise an emotional win for country trainer Danny Curran, who celebrated his biggest win in the 2015 Typhoon Tracy Stakes. He trains the three-year-old filly for local clients David and Pauline Barclay, thrilled to share the milestone victory with them.
“David and Pauline have been very ive of us and now they’ve bred themselves a Group winner, which is sensational,” Curran said.
“They own the filly and have got the rest of the family, so that’s very exciting for them and it’s my first Group winner, so it’s been a hell of a night.”
Written Dash went into the race having won two of her seven career starts, including a Benchmark 70 over 1200m back in November. However her two starts this year were unplaced, offering nothing in the final moments and not quickening enough.
The filly proved the naysayers wrong last night, winning the Typhoon Tracy Stakes at highly lucrative odds of $101. Punters who backed her at Ladbrokes.com.au would have enjoyed a rewarding payout.
2015 Typhoon Tracy Stakes Race Results & Finishing Order
| Finish | No | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Starting Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | WRITTEN DASH | Danny Curran | Dean Yendall | – | 8 | 55kg | $101 |
| 2 | 4 | ROYAL SNITZEL | Mick Price | Dale Smith | 1L | 7 | 56kg | $4.40 |
| 3 | 6 | MATILIJA | Lee & Anthony Freedman | Ben Melham | 1.75L | 6 | 55kg | $6.50 |
| 4 | 8 | SISTONIC | David Hayes & Tom Dabernig | Michael Walker | 2.25L | 2 | 55kg | $3.20 |
| 5 | 9 | VEZALAY | Leon & Troy Corstens | Damien Oliver | 2.75L | 5 | 55kg | $7 |
| 6 | 2 | LONDON LOLLY | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | Dwayne Dunn | 3.5L | 3 | 57.5kg | $31 |
| 7 | 1 | ELOPING | Peter Morgan & Craig Widdison | Stephen Baster | 3.6L | 9 | 58.5kg | $7 |
| 8 | 3 | SEA SPRAY | John Moloney | Damian Lane | 4.85L | 1 | 56.5kg | $9 |
| 9 | 7 | MINIVER | John O’Shea | Chad Schofield | 11.85L | 4 | 55kg | $21 |
