Easter filly Espaaniyah is the first horse eligible to claim the new $3m Inglis Triple Crown following her win in the Inglis Banner at The Valley – and the lure of the bonus appears it could prove too strong for connections to dismiss.
Espaaniyah (I Am Invincible x Catalonia)ran her rivals off their feet at her racetrack debut in the $500,000 Inglis Banner, scoring a comfortable win over Biscara (Rubick) and Salome (Unencumbered).
The $750,000 Emirates Park buy from the 2018 Australian Easter Yearling Sale – where she was presented by Tyreel Stud – will now be spelled by trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, before targeting potentially the richest autumn for a 2YO in Australian racing history.
To win the Inglis Triple Crown and a $3m bonus, a horse must win EITHER today's Banner OR the Inglis Nursery (Randwick, Dec 15), AND the $2m Inglis Millennium (Warwick Farm, Feb 9) AND the Group 1 Inglis Sires (Randwick, April 6).
"It's something we're definitely interested in,'' Bryan Carlson, representing owners Emirates Park, said.
"The Millennium in February looks as if it could definitely suit her schedule, six weeks out from the Slipper, and then the third leg of the Triple Crown is the Sires. It's something that is definitely on the radar now and will be discussed for sure.''
Espaaniyah, bred by Wallings Bloodstock, was one of three horses Emirates Park purchased at this year's Easter Sale.
It's proven a rich hunting ground for the world-class judges, having sourced recent Golden Slipper winners Estijaab (2018 Slipper) and Mossfun (2014 Slipper) from the same sale.
"When we saw her at the Easter Sales she had that presence, that athleticism and she showed that today,'' Carlson said.
"We're trying to find those athletic fillies but also those that have the mentality to run early and continue on as a 3YO.
"At the sales she didn't care about anything. That showed today – nothing worried her, from the moment she jumped everything was straight forward.''
Vendor Linda Monds of Tyreel Stud said the staff at the farm gathered around a television to watch the race together today.
"The champagne started flowing pretty early, it's a dream result for the farm,'' Monds said.
"She was our most popular horse at Easter, not only because she was an outstanding physical specimen, but she had the pedigree to back that up.
"Credit to Bryan Carlson for being the one to get that final bid on her and also credit to Gai and Adrian for managing her so well. It's great to see all that potential we could see early on turning into early results – that's what it's all about.''
Winning trainers Waterhouse and Bott received a pair of Swarovski Optik binoculars for winning a leg of the Inglis Race Series.
