A decade after his first group I win, trainer Rex Lipp seized his second with Tinto in the Queensland Oaks (Aus-I) May 31 at Eagle Farm.
Coming from well back in the 18-horse field, the Red Dazzler filly hooked up with familiar rival and 2-1 favorite Arabian Gold in the straight. The pair provided one of the most exciting finishes in recent editions of the race as they raced locked together from the last 150 meters.
Only in the dying strides did Tinto assert herself with Timothy Bell and pull away to win by 1 1/2 lengths from Arabian Gold. Sister Souss, a 51-1 longshot, finished a half-length back in third.
Tinto, the 8-1 second choice, turned the tables on Arabian Gold after finishing second her in the Gold the Roses Stakes (Aus-II) May 17 at Doomben. Both fillies were bidding for a breakthrough at the highest level, and Tinto got the job done while covering 2,400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles) in 2:29.46 on good turf.
Lipp's first group I came in the 2004 QTC Sires' Produce Stakes with Star Shiraz. He trains Tinto for a partnership that includes her breeders, the McAlpine family of Eureka Thoroughbreds, who enjoyed a one-two finish in the Doomben 10,000 (Aus-I) last week with half brothers Spirit of Boom and Temple of Boom.
While Lipp enjoyed a second top-level win, Bell got his first.
"I love this filly today," Bell told www.breednet.com.au. "I never wanted to count my chickens before they hatched, but it's about time I got a group I."
Out of the winning Brave Warrior mare Truly Brave, Tinto has three wins and two thirds from a dozen career starts. In her start prior to the Gold the Roses Stakes, she captured a listed stakes at the Gold Coast. She is the first group I winner for Eureka Stud resident stallion Red Dazzler, a son of Red Ransom who won the 2006 Toorak Handicap (Aus-I).
