Making her first start outside of Western Australia, the 6yo Redoute’s Choice mare Perfect Jewel gave the easterners a taste of her ability when powering home under Willie Pike in Saturday’s Group III Moet and Chandon Cockram Stakes at Caulfield.
The Grant and Alana Williams-trained mare advanced her earnings to a tad shy of a million dollars with her sixth stakes success.
The Bob and Sandra Peters homebred came from midfield with a barnstorming finish to defeat Bless Her (Street Boss) by a length with She Shao Fly (Epaulette) the same distance back in third.
Originally trained by Grant and Alana Williams, Perfect Jewel was transferred to Adam Durrant before switching back to make the trip east.
Grant Williams said it was a pleasing result after Regal Power had beaten just one home in the Group 1 Memsie Stakes.
“She’s done a great job, she had 12 months where she was a bit quiet but the Durrant team at home have done a tremendous job with her and she has really blossomed since being here,” Grant Williams said.
“We had been using her to get the others fit but she has been beating them.”
Perfect Jewel is the third consecutive stakes winner for the Listed stakes winner Star Encounter (Jeune) who placed in the WA Oaks, WA Derby and Strickland Stakes on the way to compiling a record of eight wins and seven placings from 30 starts with earnings of $563,090.
Her first foal Star Exhibit (Statue Of Liberty) is the winner of six stakes races highlighted by the Group II Perth Cup twice while Perfect Jewels full-sister Royal Star won the Listed Natasha Stakes and finished second in the WA Oaks and recently had her first foal, a colt by Pierro.
Star Encounter has a yearling colt by Dundeel and was covered by the Arrowfield stallion again last spring.
