Kris Lees with Group One spring chances

Sunday 16 September 2018, 4:56pm

Kris Lees-trained stablemates Smart Melody and Miss Fabulass have emerged from midweek wins to favouritism for separate Group One fillies' races.

Smart Melody's win in the Listed Cap D'Antibes at Flemington on Saturday has her at $3.50 for the Thousand Guineas at Caulfield on October 13 while the regally bred Miss Fabulass is at $4.60 for the Flight Stakes on September 29 following her Tea Rose Stakes win at Randwick.

Unbeaten in four starts, Smart Melody will step up from the 1100m of Saturday's race to 1400m in the Thousand Guineas Prelude.

The filly is raced by Eduardo Cojuangco's Goree Stud while Miss Fabulass runs in the colours of businessman John Singleton who owns her mother, Samantha Miss, the horse Lees regards as the best he has trained.

Samantha Miss won all four legs of the 2008 Princess Series which culminates in the Flight Stakes and went on to run third in the Cox Plate before claiming the VRC Oaks.

Singleton paid $3.85 million for Samantha Miss at the National Broodmare sale and Miss Fabulass is the result of a mating with champion Frankel in England to southern hemisphere time.

"She has the brilliance of her mother but Samantha Miss had more race sense at the same stage but she's getting there," Lees said.

"I'm deeply honoured that John Singleton gave me the opportunity to train her being by Frankel out of my favourite horse and we are slowly repaying him."

Lees also trains the favourite for Saturday's Golden Rose (1400m) with Graff holding sway at $4 over The Autumn Sun at $6.

Raced by Alan Bell, a former trainer and racing administrator, Graff was gallant when second to Lean Mean Machine in the Run To The Rose on a heavy track on September 8.

The Newcastle trainer is also looking at all options for established Group One performer Le Romain.

The six-year-old looked as if he might give Winx a scare in Saturday's George Main Stakes when he pinched a break in the straight but the champion turned it up a notch to run him down and win by four lengths.

Le Romain is an $11 chance in the Epsom Handicap (1600m) on Sept 29 but with one slot left in the $13 million Everest on October 13, connections could change direction if there is an offer.

Lees has taken charge of Everest contender In Her Time from suspended trainer Ben Smith.

The mare galloped between races at Newcastle on Friday and will head to a barrier trial before her return on September 29.

"She will trial at Newcastle on Wednesday then head to the Premiere Stakes before the Everest," Lees said.

– AAP

Latest News

Prime Thoroughbreds - We have a Host of Leaders in our Team

Tuesday, 29 June 2021

Prime Thor­ough­bred’s cur­rent rac­ing team is putt­ing to­gether quite a re­cord. We have 22 hors­es that have raced in our team at pre­sent. Six­teen of th­ese are win­n­ers in­clud­ing the Stakes win­n­ing trio Ru­bisa­ki, Fituese and Xtreme­time with Miss Di­vine Em and Miss In Charge run­n­ing 4th in Stakes races. This sees a stakes win­n­er to win­n­er ra­tio of 18.75% with a stake’s per­formed to win­n­er ra­tio of 31.25%. Th­ese are ex­cep­tio­n­al fig­ures.   More »

Freedmans land maiden Group One win

Saturday, 27 February 2021

Un­der-rat­ed fil­ly For­bid­den Love has emerged as an au­tumn car­ni­val smokey with a bril­liant per­for­mance to win the Sur­round Stakes at Rand­wick.  More »

Capriccio completes Damian Lane treble

Saturday, 27 February 2021

In a big day for coun­try-trained hors­es, War­r­nam­bool fil­ly Capric­cio has tak­en out the In­glis Dash for Daniel Bow­man.  More »

More news headlines »