Mystic Journey provides Trinder, Darmanin with magical ride
Three-year-old filly Mystic Journey became a horse for the history books at Flemington on Saturday when she became the first Tasmanian-trained galloper in living memory to win a group 1 race on the Australian mainland.
Records from racing's past are often shrouded in mystery, and the group racing system was introduced only in the 1970s.
But common consent at Flemington on Saturday held that the last horse before the Adam Trinder prepared filly to come from the island state and win such a big race was Malua, who scored in the Newmarket Handicap and Melbourne Cup in 1884 before returning to his Tasmanian stable.
History was not only made by Mystic Journey, the well-supported $5.50 second-favourite, who won the Australian Guineas by two-and-a-quarter lengths from the former Darren Weir trained stablemates Hawkshot and Amphitrite, both of whom are now trained by David Hayes.
Her victory gave former top jump jockey Trinder, from one of Tasmania's most famous racing dynasties, his first group 1 winner, while journeyman jockey Anthony Darmanin, whose main job is to ride work at Lloyd Williams' Macedon Lodge complex, was also scoring at the elite level for the first time.
The daughter of the amusingly-named stallion Needs Further, who is based at Armidale Stud near Launceston, now has bigger fish to fry.
Her triumph will almost certainly earn her a wildcard spot in the field for the $5 million All-Star Mile over the same course and distance in a fortnight's time.
And next season Trinder has even more ambitious plans, hoping to stretch her stamina out to 2000 metres for a tilt at Australasia's weight for age championship, the Cox Plate.
Mystic Journey took closer order through the second half of the race, and when the gap on the fence came she had a short sharp tussle with long-time leader Hawkshot before going clear. It was the display of a filly who got the trip extremely well and has a great attitude.
'' I said to Darmo when I legged him on, 'trust her, I know she will be there for you' and he did and she was.''
It is a remarkable achievement for a young trainer to achieve such a result with a filly bought for just $11,000 at the Tasmanian Magic Million Sales.
''We thought she was a lovely cheap little filly who would go out and do a job for us, but we never thought in our wildest dreams that that job would be a group one.
''This was my fiancee Leah's (Goodrick) filly at the sales, she loved her, so it's terribly satisfying.''
The win is, no doubt, the highlight of Trinder's short career.
''It's a group 1 and they don't come any bigger than this. We had a really fruitful summer carnival there at home, but to be able to capitalise it like this is fantastic.. it couldn't be any better.''
Mystic Journey won twice in Melbourne during the spring, but Trinder didn't think she was quite ready for the top flight then.
''We always thought, come autumn, that she would strengthen up and would be a group 1 contender. Thankfully we were right and she's come here and done the job.
''I think she's on an upward spiral, I really do. She's a filly that, every time we see her, she races better than the last time, so I think we are a long way from getting to the bottom of her.
''If she did go to the All Star Mile we would probably come back for the spring. We would like to challenge her and have a look at a Cox Plate over a mile and a quarter.''