3 minute read
The highest-rating performances by Verry Elleegant, who tragically died on Monday.
When talking about the best mares Australian racing fans have had the privilege of seeing this century, it is widely-regarded that three stand alone, in alphabetical order; Black Caviar, Makybe Diva and Winx.
Right behind them is Verry Elleegant, who tragically died on Monday morning giving birth to her first foal.
The daughter of Zed and the Danroad mare Opulence won 11 Group 1s across four seasons, including a Melbourne Cup performance only Makybe Diva has bettered in the Timeform era.
The Chris Waller-trained mare earned a Timeform rating of 127 for her fourth-length win under 57kg in the 2021 Melbourne Cup, two pounds fewer than the mark Makybe Diva received for her historic third-straight win in 2005.
When taking into consideration the four-pound penalty Timeform assigns to females owing to the 2kg allowance they receive from their male counterparts, they are effectively the two best performances since Timeform starting continuously assessing Australian features in 1990.
The top male performances in that time are Saintly, Might And Power and Protectionist, who all ran to 128, while last year's winner Without A Fight earned a mark of 127.
The Melbourne Cup was the standout performance in a 42-start career that generated 16 wins, 12 placings and $14,886,619 in stakes.
Verry Elleegant's Timeform Top 5 wins
127 – MELBOURNE CUP 2021: Became the first mare to win the Melbourne Cup since Makybe Diva when she carried 57kg to a four-length win over dominant Caulfield Cup winner Incentivise in 3:17.43 – the third-fastest time since Kingston Rule's track record win in 3:16.3.
123 – RANVET STAKES 2021: Among the fondest memories of Verry Elleegant's career were the Covid-era battles with Addeybb and her one-length win over the gelding who had won the previous year's Group 1 Champions Stakes (2004m) at Ascot was a key reason in this being one of the highest-rating performances of her career.
123 – TANCRED STAKES 2020: The 2021 Ranvet win atoned for defeat at the hands Addeybb in the previous year's Ranvet, but all that defeat did was brought her on for the 2400m Tancred, which she dominantly won by 4-1/4 lengths – the biggest winning margin of her career.
120 – CAULFIELD CUP 2020: Addeybb wasn't the only high-achieving European that Verry Elleegant denied in Australia with Epsom Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck the horse she defeated the first of her big handicap wins. The 55.5kg she carried to victory is the second heaviest winning weight for a mare, only 0.5kg behind 1942 winner Tranquil Star.
120 – PHAR LAP STAKES 2019: The fact a Group 2 race for three-year-olds features on this list underlines how dominant Verry Elleegant was in the 1500m set-weights event at Rosehill on March 16, 2019, defeating Group 1 Champagne Stakes winner Seabrook by 3-1/2 lengths with the previous year's Group 1 VRC Oaks winner Aristia a further 1-3/4 lengths away.
Verry Elleegant's remaining Group 1 wins: 119 – George Main Stakes; 118 – Chipping Norton Stakes (2021), Vinery Stud Stakes; 116 – Chipping Norton Stakes (2022), ATC Australian Oaks; 115 – Turnbull Stakes; 114 – Winx Stakes.
