Already the winner of the first and second legs of the New Zealand Bloodstock Southern Filly of the Year Series, Emily Margaret (Pins x Seven Schillings) goes into this Saturday’s third leg with an almost unassailable lead.
The Riccarton filly has earned the perfect score of 14 points so far, putting her 10 points ahead of nearest rivals Dreamtesta and Wekaforce.
Victory in Saturday’s $50,000 Listed NZB Airfreight Stakes (1600m) at Riccarton would lift her to 21 points and guarantee her the title for 2018-19 season.
Emily Margaret kicked off the Series with a win in the Listed New Zealand Bloodstock Canterbury Belle Stakes (1200m) in September, and it was the same result when the Series resumed in the Listed NZB Insurance Stakes (1400m) on March 2.
Since then, the grey filly has travelled to Trentham and beaten some of the North Island’s best three-year-olds with a Group Two victory in the $100,000 Wellington Guineas (1400m). Her owners, Rodger and Emily Finlay, donated their winnings to a fund-raiser following the tragic events in their home town of Christchurch the previous day.
Bought at Karaka for $55,000 from the draft of Trelawney Stud as a yearling, Emily Margaret has earned $152,625 in stakes.
But Emily Margaret will have to beat a talented field of fillies if she is to continue her Southern Filly Series dominance. NZB Insurance Stakes runner-up Dreamtesta is back for a rematch, while Secret Allure and Mohaka are proven black-type performers, and a host of others have won impressively in lower grades.
Like the other three races in the Series, Saturday’s NZB Airfreight Stakes is worth 7 points to the winner, with 4 points for second and 2 for third.
The NZB Airfreight Stakes will be run as Race 7 at Riccarton on Saturday with a start time of 3:29pm. -NZB