Photo: Peter Rubery (Race Images)
A black-type victory eluded My Lips Are Sealed (Ace High) by the barest of margins in the Gr.3 Eulogy Stakes (1600m) at Trentham last season, but the talented mare returned to Wellington on Saturday and went one better in the Gr.3 Rydges Wellington Airport Phar Lap Trophy (1600m).
The daughter of Ace High showed plenty of early promise as a three-year-old, scoring a first-up victory by two and a half lengths at Avondale in September of 2023. She was unsuited to the Good4 track conditions when she contested the Gr.2 Soliloquy Stakes (1400m) and Listed O’Learys Fillies’ Stakes (1340m) later that spring, but finished close up behind the placegetters on both occasions including a fourth in the Fillies’ Stakes.
My Lips Are Sealed struck a much more suitable Soft7 track for last season’s Eulogy Stakes at Trentham, where she produced a lion-hearted performance and was beaten by a nose by Still Bangon in a head-bobbing finish. But when her form fell away through the rest of her three-year-old season, it began to look like her best black-type opportunity had passed her by.
Te Akau trainers Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson have turned things around since My Lips Are Sealed turned four, stringing together back-to-back wins at Matamata and Te Rapa followed by a pair of placings at Te Rapa and Tauranga. She was a last-start fifth on firm ground in the Listed Matamata Cup (1600m) on December 20.
With a 53-kilogram minimum weight for My Lips Are Sealed in Saturday’s Phar Lap Trophy, and overnight rain sending the Trentham track out to that same Soft7 rating as last year’s Eulogy, everything fell into place in the countdown to the $120,000 feature.
In-form jockey Sam Spratt slotted My Lips Are Sealed into a perfect position in sixth, one off the rail, and her mount was travelling smoothly as Chantilly Lace led the bunched-up field around the home turn.
There was a brief hitch as Saint Bathans moved out just in front of My Lips Are Sealed and forced Spratt to switch back to his inside, but the bay mare quickly rebalanced herself and warmed into her work again.
My Lips Are Sealed surged to the front with 150m remaining and pulled right away late in the piece, scoring an emphatic victory by two lengths. Last-start Matamata Cup winner Khafre finished second, beating Talisker by a nose to prevent a Te Akau Racing quinella.
“We got into a beautiful position and then she just cruised into it,” said Spratt, whose nine Group and Listed wins so far this season are her best since riding 10 of them in 2011-12.
“She found really well down the straight. She skipped through that ground and just did everything right.”
Walker and Bergerson were delighted to secure some Trentham redemption with My Lips Are Sealed after last-season’s Eulogy Stakes nail-biter.
“It’s great to get that black-type win today after being beaten by a lip in the Eulogy,” Bergerson said. “She seems to love it here at Trentham.
“Sam gave her a great ride and it was a really good effort. She relaxed beautifully in the running. Having the sting out of the track is ideal for her. The firmer ground just slows her down a little bit and she’s not able to fully let down on it. She was perfectly placed in the handicap today and got the result.
“We’ll see how she pulls up and go from here. She’s had a bit of racing recently, so we’ll work out whether or not we give her a little break.”
My Lips Are Sealed became the third Te Akau winner in the Phar Lap Trophy, which was formerly known as the Anniversary Handicap. The Matamata stable had previously won the race with Abidewithme in 2014 and Belle En Rouge in 2023, with Belle Of The Ball finishing second in the latter for a Te Akau quinella.
The Phar Lap Trophy capped a successful Saturday for Rich Hill Stud stallion Ace High, who also sired the impressive Te Aroha maiden winner Dealt With.
Rich Hill co-bred My Lips Are Sealed and offered her in Book 1 of Karaka 2022, where David Ellis bought her for $160,000. She has now had 16 starts for four wins, three placings and $178,610 in stakes
