3 minute read
We look at the ratings run by Femminile in the Derby & Pride Of Jenni at Caulfield.
South Australian Derby
Femminile became the fifth filly to win the South Australian Derby this century, joining Delicacy, Qafila, Coco Sun and Zarita.
Four of the past ten SA Derby winners have been fillies, with Coco Sun and Femminile making it back-to-back wins in the race.
Femminile has run to a RAS rating of 106, which is the lowest rating of the quintet, clearly topped by star WA mare Delicacy at 113.
Qafila ran to 111 in her 3.5 length win while Coco Sun (108) and Zarita (107) also just outrated Femminile.
The ride from Lachie Neindorf was exceptional here, saving every inch of ground while knowing the leaders would fan wide, still able to get to decent ground off the rails and booting through underneath to score.
A rating of 106, while the lowest of the fillies, sits alongside Dunkel and Leicester in recent years, one pound ahead of the lowest rated winner Jungle Magnate in 2022.
Pride Of Jenni
The biggest 'talking points' horse of them all, Pride Of Jenni, won the Listed Anniversary Vase at Caulfield with a typically free-running performance.
On the turn it looked as if the 61kg was going to get to her, but as often happens, the ones chasing couldn't sustain it and dropped off much quicker than she did.
In terms of a rating, the weight makes this a tricky one to gauge.
On the RAS ratings, she's run to 116, which is an interesting spot for Jenni, who has typically been 'boom or bust.
Since Jenni became Jenni, which was in the 2023 Empire Rose Stakes, she's run 15 times. In those 15 runs, she's only run between 111-120 twice, one of those being on Saturday.
The other was when she finished second to Mr Brightside in the Group 1 C F Orr Stakes last year, running a RAS rating of 117.
The data set for Jenni isn't consistent or tight, with RAS ratings ranging from 100-129 in that time, so it's almost a nice change to see her just run a 'solid' rating and win, albeit against very limited opposition.
The big query for her now is can she go to Queensland and win a Doomben Cup having flopped so badly out to 2000m in the Australian Cup earlier this campaign.
A typical Doomben Cup is won around the 118 mark so even this rating isn't far off. No doubt she'll be polarising again next time out and further fodder for this column.
