Chris Waller celebrated a feature race double at Doomben on Saturday with his mare Sure Knee winning the 2020 Sapphire Stakes, adding to the stable’s Group 3 Premier’s Cup success with Another Dollar earlier in the day.
Sure Knee (pictured at Flemington) wins the 2020 Sapphire Stakes for Chris Waller at Doomben. Photo: Steve Hart.
Race 5 saw Waller taker out the meeting’s staying feature in Brisbane with Another Dollar before her stablemate, four-year-old Snitzel mare Sure Knee, came with a late surge to salute in the Group 3 $125,000 Sapphire Stakes (1630m).
Both Waller-trained mares were ridden to victory by jockey Luke Dittman who did a great job on Sure Knee getting her to the outside in the closing stages to storm home in the Sapphire Stakes over the mile.
“It was (a good win). She looked to be in a difficult spot mid-race. Luke did a great job,” Waller’s assistant trainer Paul Shailer said.
“She was really strong late reeling off some strong sectionals.
“It’s good to get a Listed, Black-Type for this filly.”
Scratched from the Civic Stakes at Rosehill in favour of the run in Brisbane, Sure Knee further franked the form out of the Benchmark 94 race over 1300m run at Rosehill on June 13 won by True Detective.
The Kim Waugh-trained Trumbull ran a luckless second in that before atoning with a Civic Stakes victory in Sydney on Saturday, while Sure Knee improved on her sixth placing in that same lead-up to take out the Group 3 in Brisbane.
Relishing the step-up to a mile, Sure Knee sat back in the Sapphire Stakes settled third last in the run as eventual last-past-the-post Shuhood led the way.
Once on the straight, Krone down the outside was finishing strongly before Dittman hooked to the extreme outside on Sure Knee, grabbing the lead inside the final 50m and getting up to win.
The Tony Gollan-trained local Krone was good again holding for second, while the Sapphire Stakes trifecta was rounded out by David Vandyke’s beaten favourite Baccarat Baby.
2020 Sapphire Stakes Results
| Colour | Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Penalty | Starting Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
1 | 5 | SURE KNEE | Chris Waller | Luke Dittman | 10 | 57kg | $9 | ||
 |
2 | 6 | KRONE | Tony Gollan | Brad Stewart | 1L | 6 | 57kg | $4.80 | |
 |
3 | 2 | BACCARAT BABY | David Vandyke | Ryan Maloney | 1.2L | 11 | 57kg | $2.70F | |
 |
4 | 11 | BAREFOOT | Tony & Maddysen Sears | James Orman | 1.3L | 1 | 57kg | $26 | |
 |
5 | 8 | RED STINA | Rex Lipp | Tegan Harrison | 2.8L | 9 | 57kg | $31 | |
 |
6 | 7 | STROME | Gary Portelli | Ms Stephanie Thornton | 3.1L | 7 | 57kg | $41 | |
 |
7 | 9 | TRICKY GAL | Matthew Smith | Baylee Nothdurft (a) | 4.1L | 5 | 57kg | $8 | |
 |
8 | 3 | DELECTATION GIRL (GB) | Kris Lees | Andrew Mallyon | 5.35L | 3 | 57kg | $15 | |
 |
9 | 4 | PAINT THE TOWN TWO (NZ) | Bevan Laming | Sean Cormack | 6.1L | 12 | 57kg | $41 | |
 |
10 | 10 | MEWSTONE ROCK (NZ) | John Symons & Sheila Laxon | Larry Cassidy | 6.3L | 2 | 57kg | $41 | |
 |
11 | 12 | SHUHOOD | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Robbie Fradd | 6.4L | 4 | 55kg | $9.50 | |
 |
12 | 1 | TELEPLAY | Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr) | Michael Cahill | 8.15L | 8 | 57kg | $18 |
*Table Credit: Racing Australia.
