The sport of thoroughbred racing had long been dominated by men, and it wasn’t until 1979 that female jockeys were first granted licences in Australia.
The racing landscape has changed dramatically over the past 40 years, and women have taken the sport by storm, with Gai Waterhouse arguably the biggest name in the game, while the likes of Clare Lindop, Michelle Payne, Amanda Elliott, Emma Freedman, and Charlotte Littlefield have all proven to be trailblazers in their own right.
Now governing bodies are shifting their attention to women and racehorse ownership, with more and more sales introducing incentives for female-owned gallopers, and it appears that a local bunch of ladies have stumbled across a handy filly of their own.
Trained by Keith Dryden in Canberra and owned by a cohort of 21 women from Jugiong, Gundagai, Harden, Wallendbeen, Wagga and Canberra, Vinolass is unbeaten following two starts.
The three-year-old made it a winning debut at Wagga on October 19 when blitzing ger rivals in the 1000m Maiden Plate before she went to the paddock for a small spell.
After 20 weeks, Vinolass returned at Canberra over the Black Opal Stakes carnival, and she was ultra-impressive when winning the 1000m Class One Handicap, recording 57.21 for the five-furlong trip, and a very impressive 32.42 for the last 600m.
“She looks like being a nice horse,” Dryden said.
“They are all thrilled with how she ran at Canberra the other day and I thought she was one of the more impressive wins over the two days, and she ran a cracking last 600 (metres); it was quicker than the Open Handicap race.
“The most impressive thing was how she did it, and she was getting through the line, which tells us she will likely get over more ground, and she looks to have a lot of upside going forward.”
The unbeaten chestnut filly has been entered in the 1000m Class Two Handicap at Albury on Friday, which is the second day of the always-popular Albury Gold Cup carnival, but Dryden isn’t entirely sure where Vinolass will race next.
“They are patiently waiting for her next run, and they understand that you can’t race them every week,” Dryden said.
“She will have another run, but we just haven’t sorted that out yet. I would have liked to have taken her to Sydney for a Highway, but they are difficult for Canberra horses to get into, and the next one isn’t for five weeks, so that might not work. “I really haven’t decided where we will go yet, and I’ll make that decision sometime this week.”
Wherever Dryden goes, he believes Vinolass’ connections will enjoy the ride.
“She’s a well-behaved filly, and she’s feeling fantastic,” Dryden said.
“Two or three days after the run at Canberra, she came out of her box to go on the walker, and she was squealing and pig-rooting, and just feeling fantastic.
“She is not a large filly, and she is only lightly framed, but she is beautifully put together, and she obviously has a motor, and it will be fun to see where she gets to.”
The purchase and syndication of Vinolass is an interesting story, with James Middleton of Redbank North – who famously bred and raced Single Gaze with his wife Fiona – spotting the Supido filly that is out of Alana’s Party at the 2021 Inglis Classic Yearling Sales.
After being passed in, Middleton made ‘three or four visits back to see her’ that same day, and in the end, he looked past her small stature as she reminded him of Single Gaze and he purchased the youngster for $20,000 from Widden Stud.
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