Five-year-old mare Little Miss Gutsaa formed the second leg of a city-winning double for Emsley Lodge when she scored at Sandown on Wednesday.
An impressive track gallop the previous Saturday buoyed the stable’s last-minute decision to run the daughter of So You Think at the meeting where earlier in the day stablemate Prince Ziggy had won the Lady Of Racing Finalist Annie de Morton BM70 (3000m).
“I only brought her here because of her trackwork on Saturday,” trainer Jamie Edwards said.
“It was brilliant, and I said to James (son and assistant trainer) that was city class work, so we had better take her to town on Wednesday’ and she’s come out and won.”
Jockey Craig Williams gave Little Miss Gutsaa ($6.50) the perfect ride just behind the leaders and she ran home strongly for neck win over Circle of Magic ($6) and Aperol Blitz ($7) in the Spirit of Racing Award Winner Penny Penfold BM64 (1200m).
Congratulations to her owners Gary and Marie Allen, Barry and Shirley Reynolds, Trevor Reynolds, and Catie Hocking.
Jamie said Craig had formulated race plan which could not have worked out better.
“Craig said before the race that this mare loves the 1300 metres here, and it’s 1200 metres, so I want to give her a good kick in the guts and try and put her into the race.
“When they took each other on (the leaders), it gave her the perfect drop and she was always going to be strong late, it was whether they had gone too hard early.”
“It was great to see her back up her trackwork and deliver like she did.”
Little Miss Gutsaa has won three of her 20 starts and has a love of Sandown where she has raced six times for two wins, two seconds and a fourth and a fifth.
“It is the logical track to target races for her,” Jamie said.
“She is going as good as she has ever gone and there is an opportunity to take her back to Sandown for some similar or slightly stronger races in the next month or so.”