Yet another female galloper wins at G1 in New Zealand and A Touch Of Ruby scored at odds close to 50-1. The 4yo mare was a last start Benchmark 85 winner so the step up to G1 is supposed to be substantial and a bridge too far almost every time but clearly not here and the result must be deemed suspect. A Touch Of Ruby has tried G1 once as a 3yo filly and finished fourteenth of eighteen and tried G3 once for a seventh of twelve though that was not too bad an effort. She had never looked or raced like a miler prior with three runs at the trip and the best effort a fifth in a Benchmark 75. The one intriguing fact from the race and proof that a pregnant mother has all sorts of strength is that A Touch Of Ruby will be retired after today. Her trainer Stephen Autridge was fined $500 for not notifying authorities the mare was in foal as bettors need that sort of vital information but the 2014 Wellington Cup week has seen a comedy of repeat errors from track people to officials. It is safe to assume it did not wipe the smile of his face and was the second time he has trained the winner of the race with a lightweight Fayreform, also a 4yo mare, scoring in 1998. It was a quinella for the 4yo mare this year with Costume powering home like the winner and it is poignant that both settled down in the rear trio. Costume was having her first run at G1 and had won here at Trentham the first day a week earlier on the infamous concrete tarmac track in a Benchmark 75 so was jumping many grades. The trifecta ended up being a 4yo one with the first male home Sacred Star that ran a game race and did carry half a kilo over. Zurella lost her chance to win with a slow start and getting buried well back the inner but ran on well for fourth though eachway bettors will feel aggrieved. The mare should have been in the money at least. Capone was an eyecatcher late from the back in a run on finish. The first pair home from in or near a very silly early pace were Brave Centaur and Survived, with both being flat and one-batting halfway up the run home home only to box on again. The riding tactics on Survived by Opie Bosson were ridiculous on a topweight disputing a mad early lead and only being headed after 600m. Survived has never led the first quarter of any race he has contested lifetime so the tactics were just either ill advised or a total brain snap. Bosson has won a G3 WFA race over a mile on the horse by looping the field to lead at the 1000m but that was because the pace was a crawl and his mount was out the back over-racing. Entirely different situation here as many tried for the front and several kept pressing plus this is a G1 under handicap conditions. Iamishwara and Perfect Start ran on from back of the midfield or in the latter case the rear trio, so were entitled too looking at the race pattern and finish. Perfect Start looks a winner back to a lesser grade race. Savour The Moment was slaughtered wide in the lead before getting over one-off second after 600m so no surprise he punctured the run home. Le Choix was slaughtered wide and working throughout after scrambling away. The other two slaughters that stopped badly were Jetset Lad and Forefront with the former ridden upside down wide on the speed early and the latter kept attacking deep before taking the front at 1000m. Forefront is a sprinter only at this stage so being gassed at a mile was a tactical blunder by either the trainer (s) or rider or both. Make Du Plessis was dumped of Chintz very early when that runner shied and he unluckily found the hardest part of the track, which had been concrete a week earlier, to land on. They breed them tough in South Africa as the now Kiwi citizen Du Plessis rode the next evening and won a million dollar juvenile race. He can clearly do some cash donating of his own now rather than outrageously asking for it live on air in a blatantly contrived interview with Trackside host Brendan Popplewell. Two of the last three Thorndon Mile winners have been 4yo mares (Say No More in 2012). The second and third placegetters in 2013 (winner Historian) and 2011 (winner Booming) were mares each time namely Lady Kipling/Miss Pelear and Dasoudi/Eileen Dubh. The winning time today was 1:34.53 and remember it was a backrunners finish as several runners gassed each other the opening quarter and a few more went on with it for another 200m. However in fourteen runnings of the race this century there have been seven faster times so it is nothing special so more proof the race is not a genuine G1 result or anywhere near the depth that international standards are trying to weed out. The record time in the race was set by a 3yo male in McGinty of 1:32.99 when ridden by Jimmy Cassidy. Craig Grylls was winning his first G1 race when he buried the field atop A Touch Of Ruby and it could be a career defining moment. The track today was not like the cement runway offered last week at Trentham but it still was not forgiving and several runners on the day ran well below par and never hit out properly the concluding stages. A suspect miler won the race though being in foal clearly gave her that equine expectant mummy-power. The runner up was like the winner and seemingly not a likely G1 performer at this stage though the way female gallopers are totally dominating the New Zealand landscape through handicapping help and extra bonus races it does not surprise. New Zealand racing nowadays is totally geared towards female gallopers. A Touch Of Ruby (fifth) and Costume (third) both ran in just a Benchmark 75 race at Ellerslie three starts ago and that is a very long way below G1 under handicap conditions. The quinella today also came from last start winners but again in several grades below so the 2014 Thorndon Mile was not a serious G1 event for neither depth, time nor outcome.