John Sargent’s Perfect Justice, a horse that had previously finished second as the favourite in successive races, was again backed into favouritism at $4.20 and duly delivered when it ran down The Mona Lisa in the Midway Handicap (1600m).
This victory represented Grima’s 31st metropolitan win for the 2025/26 season, breaking the tie with the 30-win defending champion Braith Nock, as the two talented young riders vie for the Sydney apprentices premiership.
With five metropolitan meetings remaining in the current season, Grima is in a commanding position to become only the fourth female apprentice after Rachel King (2017/18), Winona Costin (2014-15), and Kathy O’Hara (2004-05) to capture the coveted title.
“It’s good to be in front in the premiership but there’s still a lot of work to do,” Grima stated.
“I was confident during the race on Perfect Justice because even though we were three-wide with cover, he was handling the conditions and I thought we were in the better going.
“When The Mona Lisa kicked, for a couple of strides I was a bit worried but the blinkers helped and he really attacked the line today.”
Perfect Justice produced a strong finish to defeat The Mona Lisa ($7) by a long neck, reversing the placings from their previous clash in a Randwick Midway two weeks ago, with the pair finishing more than five lengths ahead of Murphilly ($6.50).
Trainer John Sargent was visibly relieved that Perfect Justice had finally achieved a win after a couple of near misses this campaign.
“I know he was becoming a little costly for punters when he was beaten as favourite two races in a row but I hope they stuck with him today and got their money back,” Sargent remarked.
“The blinkers kept him focussed and he really wanted to chase after The Mona Lisa today.
“I was actually looking for a 2000m race for him but decided to give him another run at the 1600m because the heavy track would make it a bit more of a test.
“We will keep him going for now, he’s racing well and handles the wet tracks so it’s the right time of year to have him in work. I’ll see if we can step him up in trip next start.”
Earlier in the day, Alysha Collett delivered a tactical masterclass on Cameron Crockett’s Leovanni to win the TAB Highway Plate (1600m).
Collett had Leovanni ($20) tracking the strong favourite Moon Sweeper ($1.50) throughout the race, then peeled off the grey’s back in the straight to finish too strongly and win by a half-length, with Red Rags To Bulls ($9.50) claiming third place more than two lengths behind.
“I wanted to have my mare in a position to follow Moon Sweeper through the race,” Collett said. “Moon Sweeper got to the front but I could sense he was ‘loafing’ just a little. My mare dug deep but it was only in the last 50m or so I was confident she was going to get there.”
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