Stand My Ground made an immediate impact upon her return, securing a commanding first-up victory in the $500,000 Four Pillars Midway (1500m) contested at Royal Randwick today. Post-race, trainer Marc Chevalier outlined his future ambitions for the mare.
“We are already thinking about the Five Diamonds, 2027 – but we might have a few runs before,” Chevalier commented. His forward-thinking approach is well-founded, given the outstanding training effort that prepared the mare to claim the Four Pillars title.
Chevalier revealed that the Four Pillars had been a key target from the moment his filly ran in the ATC Australian Oaks at Randwick last April, finishing unplaced behind the ill-fated Ohope Wins. “We have been preparing this mare for (the Four Pillars) the past six months,” Chevalier stated. “After the Oaks, we decided to give her a good break, bring her back in 15 weeks before the Four Pillars and we would get her ready off two (barrier) trials and she would be ready to win. Everything has been spot on and this is a very sweet feeling.”
With jockey Tyler Schiller in the saddle, Stand My Ground ($10) narrowly defeated Cuban Cigar ($7) by a half-head, demonstrating considerable tenacity. Magical Moments ($8) ran on for third place, finishing a further two lengths back.
The $6.50 favourite, Dusty Bay, led the field into the home straight but was unable to sustain its run, fading to 10th. Alabama State ($7), carrying topweight, raced just off the speed before finishing seventh.
Schiller expressed his admiration for the mare and Chevalier’s training prowess after the Four Pillars event. “She is such a tough horse,” Schiller said. “And for Marc to get her to win first up over 1500m in a tough race, with that weight, it’s a great training effort. She had a tough run from a wide barrier. I got a bit of cover early, which I thought was great. She is a big momentum horse and probably got there a touch soon but she quickened well up the rise. To her credit she just kept toughing it out. That horse joined her probably 100m out and she wouldn’t let it get past her.”
Chevalier underscored Stand My Ground’s potential, highlighted by her Four Pillars victory first-up from a spell, following her appearance in the Oaks last autumn at just her fourth career start. “After the Oaks in autumn, we thought about going to Queensland but decided to give her three months out and ‘prep’ her for this race,” Chevalier explained. “She had a little hiccup with a temperature on the morning of her first-up run back in the autumn so we missed a run. She went second-up in the Vinery and she was only beaten less than a length, so we knew we had a good filly at that time. In the Oaks, she didn’t quite run the trip but I’m confident she will run 2400m ridden conservative. But she proved today that she is a quality mare because 1500m is not her trip, she is only warming up now.”
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