Bart's filly flies in Keith F Nolan Classic

By Chris Roots
Updated November 5 2012 - 7:56pm, first published March 22 2009 - 10:38am
Peter Robl drives filly Allez Wonder past the Gai Waterhouse-trained Above Perfection to win the Illawarra Mercury Keith F Nolan Classic. Picture: ANDY ZAKELI
Peter Robl drives filly Allez Wonder past the Gai Waterhouse-trained Above Perfection to win the Illawarra Mercury Keith F Nolan Classic. Picture: ANDY ZAKELI

Hall Of Fame trainer Bart Cummings got an "unexpected" bonus when Allez Wonder blew most punters out by winning the Listed Illawarra Mercury Keith F. Nolan Classic (1600m) at Kembla Grange yesterday.Cummings is the undisputed master of setting a horse for a big staying event and is hunting an eighth AJC Oaks with Allez Wonder, and yesterday was another step on that path.The Redoute's Choice filly, whose only placing in nine runs was a third in the VRC Oaks, took a quantum leap, breaking her maiden and the track record with a devastating finishing burst."It was unexpected because her goal is the Oaks and she has a lot of improvement left in her," Cummings' foreman John Thompson said. "We would have been happy to just see her hitting the line but she took a big step forward today."She will go on the traditional Oaks path into the Storm Queen (Arrowfield Stud Stakes) and then the Oaks and she will be better as she steps up in distance." Allez Wonder started at $41, the same price as Viewed in last year's Melbourne Cup, and overcame an early check to score.Jockey Peter Robl explained he thought her chances were gone after a couple of strides, however he got her to travel midfield and had the last shot at Above Perfection ($7), which had set what appeared to be a winning break into the final 200m when she kicked four lengths clear.Allez Wonder emerged from the pack and grabbed the Gai Waterhouse filly in the shadows of the post to score by a neck, with Miss Darcey ($31) also doing her best work at the end to run third another length away."One went under my neck just after jumping and I thought that was that," Robl said. "The other day (in the Surround Stakes) she just didn't get out and I was worried that was going to happen again in the straight today. "But when she got the run she took off and her last 200m was amazing."Allez Wonder delivered another blow to the Waterhouse stable, which had also tasted defeat narrowly in the Kembla Grange Cup with hotpot Faulconbridge.But it was not all doom and gloom with Above Perfection, stable racing manager Robyn Hartney believing there was an upside to a filly which was only having her third race start."She went unbelievably well," Hartney said. "It was a super effort against more seasoned fillies and she will go to the Adrian Knox (Stakes on Easter Saturday) before running in the Oaks."Favourite Palacio De Cristal ran on for fourth and Grahame Begg was happy with her effort heading towards the Oaks."She did a good job but it was hard to make ground from back in the field and she is on track for the bigger races," he said.

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