Kind Words is finally enjoying a preparation that reflects her ability, continuing her strong summer run with back-to-back wins after capturing the Group 3 Belle Of The Turf Stakes at Gosford.
Drawn awkwardly in barrier ten over the mile, jockey Tom Sherry was forced to be proactive early, pushing the five-year-old forward before easing off the tempo through the middle stages.
Settling three-wide without cover, Kind Words ($#) launched her run on the turn and proved tough enough to fend off Hyperbolic ($#) by a head, with Chica Mojito ($#) finishing three-quarters of a length away in third.
The drop back in distance posed no issues, with the mare sustaining her effort right through the line.
“It was a tough win,” Kris Lees’ stable representative Cameron Swan said.
“Everything worked out as we chanced our arm early and got into a nice spot. She finished it off well.
“Though she was in a nice positive, she lacks that real turn-of-foot over a mile.
“She probably should have won a Queensland Oaks where she had a really torrid run and she went really good so it is good for her to get this group three win. This preparation she has really shown what she’s made of.”
The victory followed a career-best Racing and Sports rating of 102 achieved when Kind Words scored over 2000 metres at Rosehill on December 7, her first win since October 2024.
Her overall record now reads four wins and eight placings from 27 starts.
Lees secured his second Belle Of The Turf success after Hidden Wonder in 2010, while Sherry claimed his third win in the race across the past five editions.
Leading into the meeting, Lees’ stable had struck at 32 per cent from their previous 25 runners over the Christmas period.
Updated betting markets for the Belle Of The Turf Stakes and future Group races are available via the Australian betting sites list.