Unbeaten Ghisoni Leads In Australian Four-Timer

The unbeaten filly Ghisoni is set to make the graduation to G1 company following a brilliant, front-running win in the G2 Surround Stakes at Randwick on Saturday, February 27.

On a day that began badly with the news that the Australian G1 performers Contributer and Complacent had been retired due to injury, Ghisoni turned things around with a four-timer for Godolphin across two states.

At Randwick Ghisoni's victory was followed by that of Meursault in the non-graded Schweppes Handicap while at Caulfield the three-year-old colt Tally and the imported Bow Creek both scored G2 wins.

Ghisoni (John O'Shea/James McDonald) took control of the race from the jump and set a deceptively fast pace that had her opponents struggling a long way from home.

"It was like a working gallop up the running" said trainer John O'Shea.

Ghisoni has now won at each of her three starts, having been successful in restricted three-year-old company at her first two last November.

And against a high-quality field in the Surround, she displayed the same dominance, winning by a length-and-a-quarter and setting a race record, breaking the previous standard set by her mother, Portillo.

Like O'Shea, jockey James McDonald expressed great admiration for the daughter of Lonhro, describing her as "exceptional".

"I don't think I've sat on a filly with gears like her, and I've sat on some nice fillies," McDonald said.

"Her demeanor is brilliant, that's what makes her a top horse. She does everything so easily.

"She's absolutely exceptional."

O'Shea is now looking at a number of options for Ghisoni, one of them being the G1 Coolmore Classic at Rosehill on March 12 in which she would carry only 50kg.

"We've got a few decisions to make when we get home" O'Shea said.

"She's only got 50 kilos in the Coolmore against the older mares. Whether we want to run a horse in the Coolmore at its fourth start, I'm not sure.

"But might be the only time in her career that she'll carry that weight."

Godolphin was represented in the day's feature at Randwick, the G1 Chipping Norton Stakes, with three of its better middle-distance runners and was rewarded with Hauraki's stirring run into third place behind the outstanding filly Winx whose win was her seventh on end.

A Derby placegetter this time last year, Hauraki (John O'Shea/Sam Clipperton) indicated a good win was within his scope this Autumn as he chased Winx home for the second time in his current campaign.

"Hauraki's going as well as he ever has, I couldn't be happier with him," O'Shea said.

Jockey Sam Clipperton was equally enthusiastic.

"It was a privilege to ride him," Clipperton said. "He's racing incredibly well."

The G1 winners Hartnell and Magic Hurricane also used the Chipping Norton as a lead-up to longer races ahead and finished fifth and ninth respectively.

On the same card, the two-year-old colt Souchez (John O'Shea/William Buick) produced an encouraging effort to finish third in the G2 Skyline Stakes with stablemate Telperion fourth.

"They both did enough to be part of our plans for the bigger races to come. We'll look at all the possibilities and come up with something over the next week or two," O'Shea said.