Less than a length covered the first six of the seven runners in Saturday's $200,000 Group II Emancipation Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill Gardens and it was the brave Beneteau mare Prompt Response who emerged a worthy winner.
Beaten three-quarters of a length into fifth place in the Group 1 Coolmore Classic at her most recent start, Prompt Response battled gamely down the length of the straight under Damien Oliver to defeat Oregon's Day (Domesday) by a long-head with Dixie Blossoms (Street Sense) a neck back in third. (photo Steve Hart ).
"It's nice to come up here and get a winner," Oliver said.
"She's a tough mare. She had a pretty soft run up near the lead but I think I was headed in the straight but she fought back and won.
"She hasn't quite won a Group 1 yet but there were Group 1 winners in that race so it would be nice to see her win a Group 1.
Co-trainer Gai Waterhouse said she would give Prompt Response a chance to win that elusive Group 1 in the Coolmore Legacy (Queen Of The Turf Stakes).
"It's interesting that the last time Damien rode her as a 3yo she won at Sandown (in the Twilight Glow Stakes) so he's two for two," Waterhouse said.
"She's a very honest mare, a quality mare down to her tippy toes and at this level she is incredibly hard to beat."
Rapidly closing in on $1 million in earnings, Prompt Response advances her record to 5 wins, 8 seconds and 1 third from 24 starts with earnings of $945,350.
A sister to 2014 Group III VRC Maribyrnong Plate winner Prompt Return, Prompt Response is the fourth foal of the Exceed And Excel mare Prompt whose first two foals are the stakes-placed Diamond Glow (Bel Esprit) and the Hong Kong winner Mr Right (Statue Of Liberty).
Though she failed to place in three starts, Prompt is a daughter of the Desert Sun mare Amnesia a 5-time winner who placed in nine stakes races.
After slipping in 2014 and 2015, Prompt has a yearling colt by Horse Of The Year Dissident that was purchased by George Moore Bloodstock for $525,000 out of the Newgate Farm draft at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale.
Prompt has a colt foal by Medaglia D'Oro (USA) and was bred back to Capitalist at Newgate Farm last spring.
