Race Result:

1st: In Secret (James Cummings/Dean Holland) - $6
2nd: Lofty Strike (Julius Sandhu/Craig Newitt) - $10
3rd: I Wish I Win (Peter Moody/Luke Nolen) - $4.60 fav

Winning Time: 1:08.24 Last 600m: NA

Margins: 1 Length x Short-Neck

The filly wins the Newmarket!

A sensational ride from Dean Holland who picks up his second G1 @godolphin @Deanholland18 pic.twitter.com/4nSGMNk2y9

— Racing.com (@Racing) March 11, 2023

 

Winning Trainer: James Cummings

On having to replace Jamie Kah after her earlier fall: "First and foremost, the hardest thing to do is remove the emotion from it because we really feel for Jamie and we hope she's alright and that's the most important thing of all.

"Then you've got to press on and it's business and find who is available at 51.5 (kilos) and it's not an easy thing because the Victorian limit weights have raised to 54 and it's pretty rare for riders to regularly be available to ride at such a light weight."

On choosing Dean Holland: "Dean Holland is the kind of guy that has been there to ride for the Hawkeses at 47 in a Lightning on a two-year-old and he's ridden light his whole life.

"He came to the fore from the jockeys' room and I said Dean, 'will you ride my filly for me in the Newmarket?', and I said, I think I can make myself available'.

"So we went through the ride for the next 25 minutes and I showed him the replays and I showed him Dominic Beirne's map. He's a pretty bullish guy, he didn't seem phased at all for any minute with me and he rode her accordingly.

"I've got to give him credit for filling big shoes there and doing the job."

On In Secret's performance: "Didn't she just explode through the gap? We were confident we had her perfect, but she just exploded through the gap when it came and was upon them from second last in the run.

"It was a proper Newmarket and with 51.5 we just didn't see when she was at her best and had clear running how they might beat her.

"She's proven to be absolutely top-shelf again. She's two from three this preparation and she can head straight to the TJ (Smith Stakes) in three weeks and look like not only a competitive chance but a big force in that feature."

On pre-race thoughts: "On Wednesday we hoped for a mid-draw to make it as similar as we could to the way things unfolded in the 20-horse field in the Coolmore and we got just about the identical barrier and it did unfold beautifully.

"With 51.5 he (Holland) was able to just make a tiny bit more use of her earlier and she was just able to descend upon them and demonstrate her dominance.

"She steps up to weight-for-age in three weeks and the best sprinters in the country, but she's a very, very good horse and we're grateful as a team to have her.

"For his Highness Sheikh Mohammed to win another Newmarket here - the second in the last four years - is a big result.

"A great shout to the team everywhere who had their hands on this filly, we haven't seen the last of her yet, but what a record she's got already."

Winning Jockey: Dean Holland

Driving to course didn't think second Group 1 would be coming: "First of all, what I didn't want to do was carry on, win, lose or draw with what happened with Jamie and Willo.

"My thoughts go out to them.

"I'm just the lucky one that was able to ride light today and picked up the ride on one of Australia's best sprinters.

"James had no other options, unfortunately. I was the one with the lightweight. He had faith in me.

"He talked me through the race beforehand and just showed me a few replays and a few things like that. He said she has had a tendency to be a bit slow away this prep, and if she is, leave her alone and trust her. She has a strong finish and I rode her accordingly and she was too good."

Thoughts at 300m: "I didn't want to push the button too soon, but everything opened up and everything around me was under pressure.

"She responded really well but it's very lonely out there over the final 200 metres down the straight. I wasn't sure if anything was coming, but she was very tough, a rock fit horse and probably the best horse in the race."

Any pressure: "Absolutely. I kept it together pretty well. My valet Colin Dean and his son, they kept me pretty relaxed and James gave me confidence.

"I hadn't ridden for him before, but he was pretty relaxed. We got the job done, that's the main thing."

Beaten Jockeys:

Brenton Avdulla (Private Eye): "He ran really well. He wasn't beaten overly far, but what surprised me was that he wasn't travelling from a long way out. When Josh (Parr) won on him here, he was travelling a long way out."

Sam Clipperton (Mazu): "He's run a super race first time down the straight under race conditions. He loomed right up and did a fantastic job first-up."

Luke Nolen (I Wish I Win): "He was fantastic, it was just the handicap. The two three-year-olds, they skipped the handicap and we paid the price. He was very honest through the line, I think there's a couple of options for him each week and so long as we pick the right one he'll be winning again."

Jamie Mott (Roch 'N' Horse): "I think she might be better suited at weight-for-age instead of giving nice, young, up-and-coming horses so much weight."

Blake Shinn (Baller): "Travelled nice, just didn't finish off."

Harry Coffey (Bella Nipotina): "Maybe she sat a bit closer to that hot speed."

Jye McNeil (September Run): "Things didn't go to plan, we got left without cover, but disappointing."

Damian Lane (The Astrologist): "Super run, set a strong tempo down the outside and I thought he did a good job to stick on as well as he did."

Craig Newitt (Lofty Strike): "So proud of him, he ran his guts out. She was just too good for him, simple as that. He had his chance. Followed the right horses, presented at the right time, just ran into a really good filly."

Linda Meech (Chain Of Lightning): "She ran well. She probably likes the sting out of the track."

Patrick Moloney (Front Page): "It was a great run. He just peaked at the 1200 metres in a Group 1 first-up but he's up to that class at handicap level."

Michael Poy (Snapper): "Good run, just too much pressure up front for us to go all the way."

Damien Thornton (Star Patrol): "Seemed a bit flat, to be honest."

Daniel Moor (Swats That): "Disappointing."

Ben Thompson (Buenos Noches): "It was a really honest run. I travelled with In Secret, she was a length the better of me, and it went to the inside and came around them and I thought I would be stronger late than I was."