3 minute read
Dan Morton’s Super Smink will head into the $5 million The Quokka first-up.
After suffering a career-ending blow with their stable star Kissonallforcheeks last year in the lead up to the inaugural The Quokka, D Morton will get his shot at redemption on April 20th, with his talented filly Super Smink selected to run in the Ladbrokes slot.
The daughter of Super One will be first-up in The Quokka on Saturday after being scratched a fortnight ago due to an elevated temperature.
A Listed winner in just her second career start when running to a rating of 94 on the Racing and Sports scale to take out the Magic Million WA 2YO Classic (1200m), Super Smink progressed next start (97) off a 42-day freshen and was desperately unlucky not to make it back-to-back wins when beaten a whisker by Live To Tell in the Group 3 Gimcrack Stakes (1100m).
The daughter of Super One was quick to turn the tables a fortnight later in the Group 2 Karrakatta Plate (1200m) - WA's premier 2YO race, skyrocketing home with an R&S rating of 106 to beat Live To Tell by 2.1L and fellow Quokka slot holder in Ripcord (5.4L). The win rates as the second-best edition of the Karrakatta, a pound behind current Quokka favourite Amelia's Jewel's ($3.80) success the year prior.
Morton's filly was able to cap off her stellar 2YO campaign in the Group 3 Sires' Produce Stakes (1400m), again scoring convincingly (2.5L) with a figure of 105 and stamping herself as the best two-year-old in the west.
As a three-year-old, Super Smink picked straight back up where she left off, driving hard to edge out another selected Quokka runner in Almighty Class (0.2L) in the Listed Belgravia Stakes (104), and again putting a space to the Luke Fernie's stable star Ripcord, 3.2L away in eighth.
Although unable to break through for the remainder of the preparation, she ran 103 in her next two starts (LR Burgess Queen Stakes & G2 WA Gunieas), before producing her career peak of 109 in the Listed Starstruck Classic when beaten a lip by Rusty Dreams.
With Overpass – who again holds a slot, returning a figure of 119 to take out the first edition, Super Smink has a bit to find, but when taking a line through the 3YOs in the Winterbottom, she is not without a chance in the big sprint feature.
Super Smink has drifted in betting since her setback, going from a $13 chance when first announced to a $26* chance in TABtouch markets.
*Odds correct at 1:30pm, April 17.
About the Slot Holder: Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes is one of Australia's leading online bookmakers. They are operated by Entain Australia who also manage the Neds brand.
Ladbrokes is a major supporter of the Western Trilogy with slots in The Quokka, The Nullarbor and the Sandgroper. Super Smink rounds out their trio of runner announcements for the 2024 Western Trilogy having already confirmed Never Ending for the Nullarbor and Hector Fawley for The Sandgroper.
Ladbrokes chose the Ciaron Maher-trained Bella Nipotina to run for them in the inaugural Quokka and the mare performed admirably, finishing third to Overpass.
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