They had Golden Slipper aspirations with the second placed Bounding before today but the winner Rudd Awakening is far superior and should be unbeaten but for a tardy start. Most telling is the quinella in the race is Australian bred so these fillies are natural athletes built for speed as babies. Ruud Awakening is by the super sire Bernardini and is a fast and foible-free filly that ran a slick 1:08.78 today that was the quickest time on the card even bettering a G3 for 3yo sprinters. The time before anyone gets too carried away is not even the fastest time run in the race with Anabandana clocking 1:08.35 in 2011. Opie Bosson got the riding hattrick in this with wins aboard Anabandana (2011), Warhorse (2012 by promotion) and Ruud Awakening. Anabandana did not measure up in Australia at all plus Ellerslie times and track ratings are very hard to trust at this time of the year with the rail movements not helping (see other Race Reviews for Auckland Cup week). Gaston ran 1:07.83 in a Ratings 80 the same day that Anabandana clocked her time, so be wary plus this same sprinter provides another glaring reality check for Ellerslie Cup week race times. It ran 1:11.46 on Auckland Cup Day this year (2013) when the track was farcically rated a Good 3 and left at that level by the Chairman and five other stewards. Ruud Awakening three days later on a you guessed it Good 3 rated track with the rail out 4.5m (2m more than Cup Day) runs 1:08.78 or sixteen lengths faster than Open Class sprinters. Those tracks are not both a Good 3 and shame on such misinformation and spin being allowed reported and maintained as fact for the now shabbily treated bettor in New Zealand. The blatant on pace and inside bias today at Ellerslie was almost entirely due to the rail out 4.5m (plus just 4mls of watering on Thursday evening) and is one of those unintended consequences that should never arise on a G1 day ever. See the Auckland Cup Race Review for more righting of a blatant wrong and reality checks. A strong G3 field on Auckland Cup Day of mares could only run 1:23.27 for 1400m and several recent G1 winners ran in it plus the final event over a mile for already winners clocked a pathetic 1:37.38 (standard maiden time is 1:36 so this is eight and a half lengths inferior). Ruud Awakening will give day tremors to anything she contests as the filly is the ideal juvenile, while Bounding (unbeaten prior clockwise) is smart herself but just met a better baby. Trainer Stephen Marsh has done a fine job with the filly and after a Karaka Millions and a first G1 this year that could be outdone on April 6 at Rosehill in a Golden Slipper. No juvenile trained in New Zealand has ever won this richest baby race in the world and connections will have to pay a late entry fee of 150K but for an A$3.5 million dollar event the risk versus reward is worth taking. Not much to say for the rest as they will never likely beat the fillies home in any race they dare run against them again.