Proxima Dea extended her flawless record to five out of five with a powerhouse performance in the A$2 million Gr.1 Moet & Chandon Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) at Randwick on Saturday.
By Westbury Stud stallion Tarzino and a full-sister to the Gr.1 Queensland Oaks (2200m) winner Gypsy Goddess, Proxima Dea always had the bloodlines for age-group excellence over classic distances.
Trainer David Payne quickly noticed that she had talent to match, declaring her a contender for the Gr.1 VRC Oaks (2500m) after she scored a $51 upset victory on debut at Randwick in July.
Further successes followed at Gosford on August 6 and Rosehill on August 29, and then Proxima Dea became the first filly since 1993 to win the Gr.3 Gloaming Stakes (1800m) when she rallied gamely after looking beaten in the Rosehill feature on October 10.
Payne lifted the bar again for Saturday’s Spring Champion, and Proxima Dea rose to the occasion to become the fourth filly to win the race. She joins Yankee Rose (2016), Maid Of Heaven (2018) and the Payne-trained Montefilia (2020).
Drawn in the outside gate among a field of nine, Proxima Dea and jockey Zac Lloyd jumped well but found themselves posted wide around the first turn. Lloyd elected to push forward and take up a position on the outside of the leader Cormier, and Proxima Dea settled into a smooth rhythm from there.
Those early efforts might have been expected to take a toll on Proxima Dea, but when Lloyd asked her to quicken in the straight, the second favourite responded and found plenty more.
She pulled away from Cormier and took command, going on to win by a length and a half from the other filly in the race, Global Goal. The latter was sent out the $2.80 favourite for the Spring Champion Stakes after a last-start success in the Gr.1 Flight Stakes (1600m).
Proxima Dea’s exceptional campaign has not only met, but exceeded Payne’s expectations.
“To look at her you wouldn’t give much for her, but she seems to have everything – guts, heart and class,” he said. “I said to Zac that she’ll outstay them, but we can’t have a sit and sprint. I told him, ‘If nothing goes, you go, get up outside the leader and go early on her.’
“We know it’s the further, the better with this filly. She can go to the Oaks now. The extra 500m won’t be a problem, she will love it and we can give her an easier ride.
“This filly keeps surprising me. Montefilia was a good filly, but I think she stays better than Montefilia. I think Montefilia was maybe maximum 2000m.”
For Lloyd, there was hardly a moment’s doubt about Saturday’s result.
“To be fair, I thought it was game over after about 400m,” he said. “I have a lot of faith in her. I knew how tough she was last start. Once she was a length or two in front of the main rivals, I knew she was always going to be the strongest late. It was going to be awfully hard to get to her and then get past her.
“That’s her easiest win today, and it was in a Group One. She is a beauty, just tries her hardest.
“It’s so hard to do what she has done, to win five in a row. The world is her oyster.”
Proxima Dea is the fourth Group One winner for Tarzino, all of them in three-year-old races over 2000m and further. Gypsy Goddess won the Queensland Oaks and placed in the Australian Oaks (2400m) and Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m), Jungle Magnate took out the South Australian Derby (2500m), and Willydoit claimed the New Zealand Derby (2400m). Himself a Gr.1 Victoria Derby (2500m) winner and a son of influential classic stallion Tavistock, Tarzino stands for a $15,000 service fee at Westbury Stud.
The dam of Proxima Dea is the Redoute’s Choice mare Invisible Coin. Her name means “Another Goddess” in Latin, a nod to her celebrated older sister Gypsy Goddess, and she is providing another chapter in the breeding success of Transtasman Breeders Pty Ltd.
The filly was bred and is raced by Andy Giles, Hugh Docherty and Caroline Vincent, with Vincent’s partner Richard Kurland a driving force behind the operation.
The group purchased Invisible Coin before Gypsy Goddess emerged as a Group One star and subsequently returned the mare to Tarzino in the hope of producing another quality stayer.
“We purchased Invisible Coin before Gypsy Goddess started winning,” Giles said.
“All of a sudden she was an early favourite for the Australian Oaks, in which she went on to finish runner-up, and then she won the Queensland Oaks.
“On the back of her success, it was a pretty quick decision that Tarzino was a good option.”
Proxima Dea was offered at the Sydney Easter Yearling Sale but failed to find a buyer, a decision that is now proving fortunate for her owner-breeders.
Tarzino is well represented in the upcoming NZB Ready to Run Sale at Karaka on November 18 and 19, where he has 12 two-year-olds in the catalogue.