By David Nagel
Pakenham trainer Peter Moody knows a thing or two about the family of his champion-mare Black Caviar – and will resist the temptation of pushing a close relation of the freak sprinter out to the mile journey this spring.
Moody claimed his fourth win in the $200,000 Group 3 Quezette Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield on Saturday when Gimmie Par ($2.70 fav) secured her first group victory at just her third race start.
Bred by Rick Jamieson and his team at Gilgai Farm in Nagambie – who also bred Black Caviar – Gimmie Par is a half-sister to last year’s Caulfield Guineas winner Ole Kirk.
She is the second foal and second winner out of the unraced mare Naturale, who is a full-sister to Black Caviar and a half-sister to 2012 Caulfield Guineas winner All Too Hard.
Despite appearing to have impeccable credentials to run out a strong mile, and being nominated for the event, Moody thinks it is too early to prepare the pint-sized filly for a crack at the $1million Thousand Guineas (1600m) to be run at Caulfield on Wednesday, 13 October.
“I haven’t set anything beyond today, the old adage, one at a time, but she’s not a big girl so she’s not going to be in for a busy spring,” Moody explained.
“She doesn’t strike me as a (Thousand) Guineas’ filly, the mile here might just test her at this point in time, so we’ll probably keep her at that five-and-a-half, six-furlong mark, and just pick our way carefully through them.
“There are no lofty targets at this point, we’ll just wait for her to mature a bit more.”
Sired by Not a Single Doubt, Gimmie Par began her career in the autumn with a close-up second in the Listed Talindert Stakes, behind Ingratiating, who also won at Caulfield on Saturday.
Gimmie Par then scored a narrow victory at Caulfield, also in the autumn, before heading to the paddock in preparation for the Quezette.
Moody said there was still plenty of room for improvement in his promising filly as she heads towards the spring.
“It was a good win, she came in soft, we didn’t trial her into the lead up, so she’s open to nice improvement which is pleasing,” he said.
“Thanks to Rick Jamieson and the team up there at Gilgai, she’s a lovely filly and now a very valuable little girl with a group win beside her name.”
Moody said he wasn’t overly concerned when jockey Jamie Kah drifted Gimmie Par into a three-wide running line midway through the race.
“I was happy to see a bit of fresh air in front of her and there’s only one turn, so unless you get a head-wind here you don’t worry about that here,” he explained.
Kah, who scored a double on the card, said everything didn’t go according to plan.
“The race was going to plan out beautifully but then we got a bit of pressure from our inside,” Kah said.
“I was a bit wide in the end but she’s a little filly and you don’t want to get muddled up inside them, so I was not too fussed in the end when we were three wide, we had clean air and she gave me a really big kick.
“For a little horse she’s got a massive stride on her and a big motor.
“She’s having a good blow so the spring is looking bright for her.”
Saturday racing heads to The Valley this week for the Listed McKenzie and Carlyon Stakes, while Pakenham’s next meeting is scheduled for two days later on Monday, 23 August.
