Keayang Zahara's unbeaten streak is over

By Adam Hamilton 

The streak is over.

Brilliant young trotting mare Keayang Zahara’s unbeaten streak came to an end at her 16th start in last night’s $100,000 Group 1 Macarthur Mile at Menangle.

But it took another very gifted mare and a near Australasian record time to do so.

The Emma Stewart-trained Susan Is Her Name stalked Keayang Zahara, who led, then came off her back at the top of the straight and gunned her down to win by almost four metres.

She clocked a 1min51.6sec mile, just 0.1sec outside Maori Time’s Australasian record.

The injury-plagued Susan Is Her Name has always looked a bit special and that was her 11th win from just 17 starts, including all four this campaign.

Driver Mark Pitt was thrilled but not surprised by ending Keayang Zahara’s unbeaten run.

“I came here full of confidence, so did the team,” he said. “We’ve got a huge opinion of this mare and felt if we could lead or get the sit on Keayang Zahara, she would need to be at the top of her game to beat us.

“She’s only lightly-raced this mare, but she’s got so much speed … she’s electric.”

The best part of fans is that both Susan Is Her Name and Keayang Zahara are headed for a rematch at the Brisbane Inter Dominion in July.

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Champion driver Luke McCarthy declared Eye Keep Smiling one of the best mares he has driven after her narrow but massive win in last night’s $200,000 Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Mile (formerly Ladyship).

Despite working three wide for 550m from a wide draw and then sitting parked, Eye Keep Smiling ran past leader Tay Tay and just kept finding in a blistering 1min49.3sec mile.

Star WA mare Steno, who is back in NSW and headed to the breeding barn, stormed home from a mile back to just miss causing an upset by a half-head.

But Eye Keep Smiling was fantastic, taking her record to 23 wins and five seconds from just 34 starts and going past $650,000 in earnings.

“God she went good,” McCarthy said. “She just tries so hard, that was awesome.

“She’s one of the best mares I’ve driven and I’ve been lucky enough to drive some champion mares.

“She was entitled to get beaten after that run, but there wasn’t much I could do from the draw. She just wouldn’t lay down.”

Eye Keep Smiling will be part of a big McCarthy team heading to Queensland in coming weeks. Her main target will be a title defence in the Group 1 Golden Girl.

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It is fair to say Grant and Trista Dixon have an early stranglehold on the Queensland Oaks.

Just hours after it was confirmed star Kiwi filly Captain Mistress, winner of the Group 1 Sires' Stake final, was heading to Team Dixon, the stable won the Group 1 NSW Oaks with Cool And Classy.

The stable has always had a big opinion of Cool And Classy and she dug deep in a hotly contested NSW Oaks to overpower leader and favourite Soho Americano in the closing stages.

They posted a slick 1min54.3sec mile rate and Cool And Classy pulled clear to win by 3.3m.

The daughter of Captaintreacherous, bred and raced by Kevin and Kay Seymour, has won eight of her 12 runs with three placings and over $350,000 in prize money.

“It was a very tactical race and she found plenty when I needed her to,” Dixon said.

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The fairytale was so close.

Emerging trotting filly Tracy The Jet, trained by Jess Tubbs and driven through most of her career by Greg Sugars, flashed home but just missed winning last night Group 1 NSW Trotters’ Oaks.

The ground she made-up on winner, Gatesys Gem, in the closing 100m was amazing.

Ultimately, the gun run Luke McCarthy gave Victorian filly Gatesys Gem behind the leader and then scooting away with a huge lead, made the difference.

“That second filly went great and gave me a scare, but I was trying to be as kind as I could on my filly and she lifted again when I saw the other one coming and I asked her,” McCarthy said.

Gatesys Gem, trained in Victoria by Glenn Hunter, won six of nine runs last season and has returned with a luckless second and now the NSW Oaks win.