Kept For Pleasure scores a deserved win in the Breeders Crown 4YO Mares Final
A couple of Tabcorp Australasian Breeders Crown hard-luck stories capitalised on this year's introduction of a four-year-old series to add their names to the honour roll of the southern hemisphere's premier juvenile series.
Maffioso and Kept For Pleasure, both beaten when fancied in their two and three-year-old finals, won today's inaugural $100,000 Group 1 four-year-old deciders.
Champion local reinsman Gavin Lang lifted Kept For Pleasure to victory at her final racetrack appearance before being retired to stud..
After being disqualified from her two-year-final after starting favourite, Kept For Pleasure again ran favourite last year but had no luck after starting from inside the back row and finished a close seventh.
The Susan Hunter-trained star secured redemption when she finished powerfully to nab fellow New South Wales filly Lady Lexus right on the line. Third, more than six metres away, was Gilt Bromac.
"Fairytales don't come true very often, but they have here today," Lang said.
"The Sloys group that own these horses have a plan to race their horses as two, three and four-year-olds and then retire them and they're sticking to that with her but at least she's gone out in a blaze of glory."
Kept For Pleasure's1:57.7 win came half an hour after Maffioso won the entires and geldings final in 1:57.8.
The Peter Tonkin-trained star made up for second placings at both two and three with a gritty all-the-way win.
The son of Presidential Ball looked all over a winner when top reinsman Chris Alford kicked him clear soon after straightening, but he had to dig deep to hold on by a metre from Rohan Home. Third, 4-1/2m back, was The Seventh Son.
