Pretty In Pink (middle) edges out Winter Bride and Brave Song in the Group Two Moreton Cup (Trackside Photography)
She is Pretty In Pink. Or yellow and red. Or red and yellow. Doesn’t really matter does it?
Let’s face it, when your horse is first across the line in a Group Two, they look good in any colour!
On Saturday at Doomben, the Segenhoe Thoroughbreds bred and owned, Pretty In Pink, ran right into $1.5 million Group One Stradbroke Handicap calculations with a gutsy performance in the Sky Racing Moreton Cup over 1200m, edging out Brave Song and Segenhoe ‘stablemate’, Winter Bride, in a thriller.
Clearly enamored with the Moreton effort, Segenhoe’s Racing Manager, Bill Mitchell, wasn’t too concerned with backing up the 3YO filly after just seven days, nor the additional 200m of the Stradbroke.
“All things being equal she’ll go around at Eagle Farm this Saturday, but will be ridden differently and not so much up on the pace,” Mitchell points out. “She’s only had the two runs this time in and, what’s more, she ran a very good third in the (Group Two) Tea Rose Stakes over the 1400m last spring, so we know she can run out the trip.”
The Moreton Cup was Pretty In Pink’s second black type victory, having won the Listed Woodlands at Scone last May, and the 3YO filly now has three wins and two placings from seven outings for $291,455 in stakes.
With just the two starts as a 2YO, Pretty In Pink finished third in the Group Two Furious, third in the Tea Rose and ninth in the Group One Flight, before a lengthy layoff due to a soft tissue injury: resuming in the Listed Denise’s Joy at Scone last month.
Pretty In Pink is among 53 stakes winners for former Widden Stud stallion, Sebring, who died earlier this year, while the filly’s dam – Group Two placed Nadeem mare – Total Attraction, is closely related to multiple Group winner, Infinite Grace, and hails from the family of dual Cox Plate winner, Fields of Omagh.
Offered by Segenhoe at the 2017 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale, Pretty In Pink was passed in at $240,000.
“She (Pretty In Pink) had a minor x-ray issue, moderate risk they call it, but was – is – an absolutely stunning filly,” Mitchell explains. “Ironically, the full sister, which we sold earlier this year, is a totally different type. The 2YO half sister, by Pierro, was retained by Segenhoe and is with Toby Edmonds, while we’ll keep the Choisir half sister who hurt herself after foaling last spring.
“Unfortunately, Total Attraction missed to Sebring in 2018. Sebring was a tremendous loss to the industry – he was such a great outcross and Segenhoe used to send four or five mares to him every year.”
With around 60 mares and some 40 racehorses (either fully or part-owned), Kevin Maloney’s Segenhoe has also enjoyed black type success this season with another Sebring in Miss Admiration (Group Three Colin Stephen), while other stakes winners for the stud in the last six months include Voodoo Lad (Group One Winterbottom) and Winter Bride (Group Three Wenona Girl).
There’s been plenty of success in the sale ring too with $1.4 million for the Redoute’s Choice colt from Breakfast in Bed at the Gold Coast Magic Millions Yearling Sale in January, plus $1.4 million for the full brother to multiple Group winning 2YO, Catch Me at Easter. Segenhoe also sold the full brother to Merchant Navy for $2.3 million.
Perhaps after Saturday, they can add a Stradbroke to the score card as well.
HOOFNOTE: Pretty In Pink’s trainer, John O’Shea, won the Stradbroke Handicap in 1993 with then 3YO filly, Private Steer, which was raced by the late Paul Makin, owner of Saturday’s Group One Queensland Oaks winner, Winning Ways.
