Daffodil In Devastating Form (February 21 2010)

Champion mare Daffodil sounded an ominous warning to her feature autumn race rivals when she raced right up to her looks at New Plymouth. The four-year-old paraded in magnificent order and performed accordingly on Saturday with a highly-impressive victory in her first appearance since a luckless Melbourne Cup bid.

"That was beyond our expectations and she's pure class," part-owner Garry Chittick said. "She's a wonderful mare to be part of and as long as she pulls up well she'll run in the Otaki weight-for-age event next Sunday."

Under topweight of 58kg, Daffodil made light of both her hefty impost and the 1100 metre trip with a stunning display to comfortably account for accomplished short-course performer and dual Group winner Jazzella. The WS-bred daughter of No Excuse Needed settled off a good pace and when rider Opie Bosson asked her for an effort into the straight she responded with an impressive turn of foot to coast home by a length and a-quarter.

"She jumped well and was lost for a bit of early speed, but when I angled her into the clear 300 metres out and balanced her up she was just too good," Bosson said. "Class horses can carry that weight and I was pretty confident after her (Otaki) trial win - I rode Vosne Romanee who finished second."

Daffodil will next step up to 1600 metres in the Gr 1 Otaki-Maori WFA before a return trip to Sydney where she triumphed in last season's AJC Oaks. " We were going to run in the Australian Cup but that's a week after Otaki so she'll start in the Ranvet before the BMW," Chittick said.

The Gr 1 $A400,00 Ranvet (2000m) will be run at Rosehill on March 20 with the Gr 1 $A2.25 million BMW Stakes (2400m) a fortnight later. "The mile and a-half of the BMW is going to suit her down to the ground," Chittick said. He also paid tribute to the conditioning skills of trainer Kevin Gray. "Kevin's done a marvellous job with her and she's come back in magnificent order." Daffodil's victory on Saturday was the eighth of her 23-start career and took the triple Gr 1 winner's career earnings beyond the $1 million mark.