After recording her first black type victory during last year’s spring carnival, the James Cummings trained Kin has produced three quality black type efforts during the Queensland carnival, resulting in a thoroughly deserving victory in Saturday's $160,000 Listed Gai Waterhouse Classic (1200m) at Ipswich.
Sporting blinkers for the first time, 5yo Kin went forward after a good get away from the barriers to settle three back on the rail with the Chris and Corey Munce trained Navyonthehighway (Merchant Navy) taking up the running, ensuring a solid tempo.
Race favourite Gerringong (Blue Point) was coming off a narrow last start third at Listed level, and after jumping away from the outside barrier, was forced to race a little wide in the run.
With Navyonthehighway still full of running at the 200m mark, jockey Angela Jones was charging out of the ruck aboard Kin to mount a serious challenge, pulling clear at a rate of knots to score by just shy of a length.
Coming one of the widest on the turn, John O'Shea and Tom Charlton’s Countyourblessings charged into second, adding some valuable black type to the pedigree of the daughter of I Am Invincible.
After a wide passage, Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott’s Gerringong had the audacity to work home to finish third, recording her third consecutive black type placing.
Godolphin’s stable rep Camille Fitton felt the blinkers made a world of difference for Kin.
"She was really good today. She had the perfect ride. We were thinking that she would be sharper today but she just needed a little boost with blinkers and it just worked out really well for her today,” stated Fitton.
"Angela has been helping us out a lot and she deserved that win. She does some gallops for us and some trips to the beach so we are happy that she go the win today."
Like Fitton, jockey Angela Jones felt the blinkers added another dimension to the mare.
"Very grateful to have rides on these colours let alone on chances in listed races,” said Jones.
"The blinkers really sharpened her up today. She had a good gate and I felt my job was done when she was travelling well in the early stages.
"She had a beautifully turn-of-foot and she put them away impressively."
Taking her earnings to just shy of $700,000, Kin has recorded five wins (twice at Listed level) and a further 11 placed performances from 28 starts
The first foal of the Listed BRC Nudgee Handicap winner Kinshachi, herself a Commands half-sister to the Group 2 VRC Danehill Stakes winner Aichi (Strategic), who also placed third in the Group 1 VRC Newmarket Handicap, Kin comes from the extended family of dual Group 1 winner She’s Extreme (Extreme Choice).
Kinshachi’s current 2yo is a colt named Yuki (Frosted) who is yet to race but has had two public jumpouts, while the mare has a yearling filly by Brazen Beau named Aijin, followed by a weanling by the same sire and was covered by Blue Point in November last season.
Kin is one of ten individual stakes performers for the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap and Group 1 Kingsford-Smith Cup winner Impending (Lonhro) who will stand for a fee of $6,600 (inc. GST) at Larneuk Stud in the spring.
