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The final Group 1 of the season has been run and won by Prompt Response who took out the Group 1 Sky Racing Tattersall’s Tiara (1350m) at Doomben on Saturday.
The Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained runner came into the race off good form, following up some terrific efforts during the autumn carnival in Sydney with a second placing in the Group 2 Dane Ripper (1350m) off a freshen up earlier in the month.
Taken to the front from an inside draw by Blake Shinn, Prompt Response was able to settle off the leader Daysee Doom along the rail for much of the race, kicking clear at the top of the straight to claim a one and a quarter length win over Shillelagh in second with Super Cash third.
Prompt Response returned a new career peak Timeform figure of 115, one pound above his effort in the Group 2 Dane Ripper Stakes the start prior.
The four-year-old mare who finished runner up in last years renewal of the race ran two pounds above the winner of that race Tycoon Tara and is the highest rated winner since Srikandi in 2015 who ran to 119.
Connections will now be hoping to gain a start in the $13 million Everest during the spring following her first Group 1 success despite the race being over 1200m.
Of the placegetters, Shillelagh in second ran to a new career peak Timeform figure of 111 with Super Cash running well again in third and running to 111, a pound above her Stradbroke second placing.
Earlier in the day, Divine Unicorn continued his terrific campaign with a win in the Group 3 Tattersall’s Cup (2200m).
Settling just off the leaders in third for much of the race, Jim Byrne was able to produce Divine Unicorn at the right time, claiming the lead at the 100m and holding off his rivals over the concluding stages.
Having shown good ability in his debut campaign, the lightly raced four-year-old has continued to improve this campaign and he returned a Timeform figure of 103, the same he ran to the start prior when third in the Listed Wayne Wilson.
Whilst Divine Unicorn is one of the lower rated winners of the race in recent times, with only eight starts to his name is open to a good deal more improvement but is likely to make his way to Hong Kong where his owners are located.
Arguably the run of the race came from Tradesman on the quick back up with 59kg, just over a length away in second and he ran to a Timeform figure of 109, two pounds below his Ipswich Cup win.
The final race of the day saw a very competitive field line up in the Group 3 W.J Healy Stakes (1200m) where Spright relished getting back on some good ground.
The Gary Frazer-trained runner came off some midfield finishes on slow and heavy tracks recently but was able to run on strongly from back in the field to secure a narrow win over Tumbler in second with Havasay third.
In what was her first win since the Group 3 Star Kingdom at Rosehill in March, Spright returned a Timeform figure of 107, her highest since winning the Group 3 Crown Resorts Plate at Flemington in November 2016.
Spright measures up pretty well to recent winners of the race, returning a figure two pounds above 2017 winner Burning Passion and the same as 2016 winner Into The Red before the mares’ allowance.
Tumbler would have lost no admirers in second, having no luck at a crucial stage of the race and running to a new career peak Timeform figure of 104, seven pounds above her previous best.