3 days ago
Grit and determination leads to a stunning win by Joe Pride's smart mare In Flight Randwick feature
In Flight, racing's pin-up girl, wasn't entitled to win at Royal Randwick on Saturday.
The track wasn't as wet as she prefers, she was slow to begin and the race tempo was against her but the flashy mare was still able to find a way to beat a classy field in the Listed $200,000 Bob Charley AO Stakes (1200m).
There might have been better horses to win the Australian Turf Club's feature winter sprint but few who try as hard as In Flight.
The venerable Charley was there to watch the race named in his honour. He has seen all the great champions win on the famous track over his celebrated 70 years in racing but even he was full of admiration for the mare's determination.
' In Flight looked like she was going to run a good second but you had to like the way she really dug deep to win,' Charley said.
'Earlier in the day, Joe Pride told me this was a race he had never won before but he felt he could do it with this mare.
'I'm happy for Joe because I think he's an outstanding trainer and he's got a good horse with In Flight.'
But Pride, who trained a hat-trick of winners to close out the Randwick meeting, started his stable winning streak with In Flight but admitted he was concerned when the winter sunshine resulted in the track being upgraded to a Soft 7 prior to the Bob Charley Stakes.
'When this track started drying out, I was a little bit concerned as the best version of this mare is on really wet tracks,' Pride said.
'The times they are running today aren't too slow at all so for her to come back from winning on a heavy track in Brisbane and get the job done is a very good effort.
'She has earned her crack at this level of racing but that was harder than what we would have liked today.
A tough win to In Flight in the Listed Bob Charley AO Stakes at Randwick for @PrideRacing! 🚀 @ProvenTbreds @aus_turf_club
â€' SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 7, 2025
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'But she is up at the right time of year and we will see how she pulls before making any more plans. She is doing a great job.'
In Flight, ridden by Jay Ford, was backed into $2.35 favourite but she made her supporters sweat before she reeled in topweight Brudenell ($21) near the line to win by a long head with Contemporary ($12) just over a length away third.
Ford also admitted he was concerned mid-race when the speed slackened and In Flight was conceding Brudenell a considerable start on the turn.
'To be quite frank, I thought they would go quicker than what they did,' Ford said. 'In the first furlong or so, they spread right out but then the speed backed off.
'I just had to bide my time with cover then present her but she still had it all to do which just shows how genuine she is.
'The second horse laid up outside the lead off a controlled tempo but she was still able to run him down. She was brilliant, just brilliant.'
Ford said In Flight 'feels on song' this preparation: 'It's easy to say now she has two stakes wins to her name but she is just oozing confidence,' he said.
In Flight is a rising five-year-old mare and was purchased for $220,000 as a yearling by Jamie Walter's Proven Thoroughbreds of Private Eye and Think About It fame.
Headley Grange wins first up to give @PrideRacing a Randwick double! 🙌 @aus_turf_club
â€' SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 7, 2025
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Her tough Randwick win improved the mare's race record seven wins (and five placings) from 17 starts and nearly $700,000 prizemoney.
Pride believes we haven't seen the best of In Flight yet.
'In Flight is going to keep getting better with age. This time next year she will be a better horse again,' he said.
'But she's a pretty thing. Look at her tail, there are so many different shades of grey in it, she's a beautiful filly.
'I love her. I wouldn't see she is a sweet thing, she can be a bit of a 'tart' but she has all the attributes a good mare needs.'
Pride then completed a race-to-race double when Headley Grange ($3.70) came with a powerful late surge through the pack to score by three-quarters of a length from Green Shadows ($15) and Dark Glitter ($21) to win the Singapore Pools Handicap (1300m).
Headley Grange was held up for a run from the top of the straight and would have been a good thing beaten but jockey Adam Hyeronimus persevered, found a gap and the Pride sprinter did the rest.
In-form sprinter Storm The Ramparts.
