Racing: Youngsters prove their class

No, we haven't got one as good as God's Own, but the New Zealand 3-year-olds are an incredibly talented bunch.

In the "off" week when Darci Brahma and Dr Green were taking it easy, classy fillies Twinkling and Vegas Showgirl took further steps up the ladder and Tsarina Belle showed she needs only the right sort of firm track and 1400m-plus to join the other pair as stakes winners.

Twinkling and Vegas Showgirl had already won stakes races before the weekend and in taking the Tip Top Bonecrusher Stakes and Soliloquy Stakes respectively at Ellerslie you saw why.

The Bonecrusher may have been a relatively soft option, but in winning Twinkling displayed more than just talent. She showed real grit because Rogan Norvall had to cover more ground than any other runner and the Cambridge filly never flinched in the run to the line after giving the appearance of being flat out at the 250m.

She also showed Oaks potential, which is no surprise because her dam, Limitless, won the 3200m Brisbane Cup. The way Twinkling simply keeps getting to the finish suggests she will manage the 2400m of the Oaks at Trentham in January.

"The Oaks trip won't be a problem," says co-trainer Royce Dowling. "She's like her mother, she's versatile in what distances and track conditions she can take."

Dowling shrewdly avoided Vegas Showgirl and Tsarina Belle.

"I figured that Crusoe and Black Panther wouldn't run if it was wet and that, because she's a staying filly, she would have an easier time facing the others.

"I didn't want to take on the other two [Vegas Showgirl and Tsarina Belle] until we stepped up to 1600m."

Dowling said the fact that most thought Twinkling was not travelling like a winner at the 300m was caused by Rogan Norvall's ride.

"Rogan loves her that much he'd marry her if she was human. He knows what she's capable of and he was trying to give her as easy a run as possible. Eventually he had to ride her along to get her there, but she was going easily enough."

It looked a tough run, but Dowling said Twinkling was in perfect condition yesterday morning.

Dowling is looking at a 1400m 3-year-old fillies race at Trentham on October 22 as a final lead-up to the $275,000 New Zealand Bloodstock 1000 Guineas at Riccarton next month.

Trainer Stephen Autridge has not ruled out the possibility of Vegas Showgirl taking on the 1000 Guineas and the $300,000 Christchurch Casino 2000 Guineas, particularly as for the first time this year the pair of group one events are a week apart rather than run as a Wednesday-Saturday coupling.

Autridge believes Vegas Showgirl is equally at home in wet and dry conditions, but unquestionably she manages wet footing exceptionally well.

Rider Andrew Calder almost wanted to apologise for pressing the button on the classy filly on the home turn but declared the opposition was never going to get the pair, even from that far out.

That didn't stop Tsarina Belle trying hard. She got back second last, got a good run through the middle at the 400m, but struggled in the ground. While Vegas Showgirl was skipping through the mud from the 300m, Tsarina Belle was dipping noticeably every two or three strides.

"I'm delighted," said Lance O'Sullivan of the early favourite for the 1000 Guineas.

"The good thing about her is her toughness. Even when she races she sleeps by her feed bin in the paddock in case she misses something.

"When they're like that it makes them so much easier to train for a tough campaign."

O'Sullivan will top off Tsarina Belle's Riccarton preparation with the 1400m Jim and Annie Sarten Memorial at Te Rapa on October 24.

He scratched Crepe De Chine from Ellerslie on Saturday, but not as most thought because of the wet track, the speed filly developed a boil on her back, which became obvious on race morning.

"There is no way we could have got a saddle on her."

In retrospect, O'Sullivan is not disappointed.

"She is such a speedy filly she could not have won in those conditions at Ellerslie. You have to ask yourself, does she really want to run 1400m, I don't think so."

The trainer said there is now a big question over whether Crepe De Chine travels to Christchurch.

Back to God's Own ... If you missed Bart Cummings' 3-year-old winning Saturday's A$1 million Caulfield Guineas, set your video to record Australian Racing Retro on Trackside at 10.30am today.

It's head-shaking stuff. Yes, our 3-year-olds are exceptionally good.

God's Own is freakish.