Star mare Montefilia gave the short priced punters a migraine when she scored a brilliant win in the Gr1 Ranvet Stakes run at Rosehill on Saturday.
Sent out a short-priced favourite, superstar mare Verry Elleegant was expected to win, but Montefilia didn’t read the script and in a dominant performance she proved much too good.
Jason Collett shows his delight as Montefilia leaves them in her wake
The win for Montefilia was her fourth at Gr1 level and the performance left her trainer David Payne a proud man.
“She was a different filly today,” Payne told Channel 7 moments after the win. “You’ve just got to look at her – she’s much stronger.”
Payne said he would press on to the Queen Elizabeth Stakes and a return bout with Verry Elleegant before a campaign to tackle Australia’s most famous race in November.
“I think we have to go for the Queen Elizabeth (Stakes) – why not?! And then we’ll look later at the Melbourne Cup hopefully.”
“It’s very special because Verry Elleegant is Horse of the Year. I wonder what it makes her now,” Payne added with a smile.
Montefilia enjoyed a lovely run in the Ranvet Stakes under Jason Collett and sprinted hard in the straight – leaving her rivals in her wake.
“It was only her second run (this preparation),” Payne noted. “She will strip fitter and continue to improve.”
David Payne
Payne went to A$130,000 to secure Montefilia from the Tyreel Stud draft at the 2019 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. As it stands she’s won her connections over A$2,37 million.
Montefilia, who earlier in her career had won a Flight Stakes, Spring Champion Stakes and Metropolitan Handicap at Gr1 level, is the star performer to date for her sire Kermadec.
She is one of two stakes performers produced by her dam, the Shirocco mare Bana Wu. The other is this season’s stakes performed juvenile Nice for What.
Bana Wu herself was a winner and triple stakes placed performer in the United Kingdom. She’s had five runners for four winners and a stakes placed maiden.
Montefilia was bred by the late Geoff Russell and was reared at Tyreel Stud who had the honour of selling her to her current connections on the Gold Coast.
- Winner: Montefilia
- Breeding: Kermadec-Bana Wu (Shirocco)
- Breeder: Geoff Russell
- Race: ATC Gr1 Ranvet Stakes
- Sold for: A$130,000
- Sale: 2019 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale
- Vendor: Tyreel Stud (As Agent)
- Buyer: Payne Racing
- Earnings: A$2 378 525
- Owners: Ms C L Vincent, Ms K Docherty & Mrs L B Paligorov
- Trainer: David Payne (Rosehill)
