Photo: ultimateracingphotos.com.au
A six-length blitz by Saintly Dancer (St. Mark's Basilica) in the A$300,000 Gr.2 TAB One Pool Edward Manifold Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on Saturday continued an outstanding start to the Australasian three-year-old filly season for the Hawkins family’s Llanhennock Trust and Wentwood Grange.
Saintly Dancer was bred by Llanhennock Trust and offered under their Wentwood Grange banner at the 2025 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, where First Light Racing and Ciaron Maher Bloodstock bought her for A$100,000.
Meanwhile on this side of the Tasman, the highly impressive Gr.3 Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) and Listed Chittick Family Fillies’ Classic (1100m) winner Hawea was a member of Wentwood Grange’s Karaka 2025 draft and was bought for $300,000, while the Llanhennock-bred Listed Canterbury Belle Stakes (1200m) winner Sweetest Thing was purchased for $80,000 from that same draft.
All three could have bigger and better things in store over the coming weeks and months, and with Saturday’s performance, Saintly Dancer put herself firmly in contention for the Gr.1 Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield on October 17.
The Ciaron Maher-trained filly was a maiden winner at Sandown two starts ago on August 19, then stepped up to stakes company with a sixth in the Listed Atlantic Jewel Stakes (1300m) on September 5 and a second in the Gr.2 Thousand Guineas Prelude (1400m) on September 19.
She went up to 1600m on Saturday and upped her game in spectacular style.
Saintly Dancer was ridden by Ethan Brown and strode forward to take up the lead within the first 100m of the race. She was enjoying her work out in front as she made her way down the back straight and around the far turn, and Brown was still sitting quietly in the saddle coming into the home straight.
Brown shook the reins at the 400m mark and Saintly Dancer produced another gear, putting the field to the sword within a few powerful bounds. She swept past the finish line six lengths clear of Joely, with another three and a quarter lengths back to the third-placed Beautiful You.
“Up to the mile today, she broke really well,” Brown said. “She’s quite electric early. I had to work with her just to get her back, and she pricked her ears.
“She got an easy lead. We were able to kick away, and Ciaron had her extremely fit for the heavy track today and she proved she’s on an upward trajectory.
“She’s got a bit of a mind of her own. She was whipping around on me before the race and playing around, but as soon as the gates opened, the job was on and she won quite convincingly.”
Saintly Dancer has now had five starts for two wins, two placings and A$279,060 in stakes. Saturday’s impressive performance moved her into equal $6 second favouritism for the Thousand Guineas.
“God, that was impressive,” Maher said. “She looked really comfortable in the run and Ethan had her in a lovely rhythm. The team have done a great job up at Ballarat. She doesn’t carry a lot of weight, but she seems to do better up there.
“First Light, they’ve got another really nice chance heading to the Thousand Guineas. I was in two minds whether to go there, but if there is a bit of juice in the track, you’d seriously have to consider it on the back of that.
“We were keen to go forward today, and I didn’t tie Ethan down too much. He found the top pretty easily, and when she turned into the straight, you knew she had a nice kick in her. Gee, she was dominant.”
Saintly Dancer is by St Mark’s Basilica out of the winning So You Think mare Thinkyoucandance, who is the dam of two winners from three foals to race. A filly by Sword Of State out of Thinkyoucandance was offered by Wentwood Grange during Book 1 of Karaka 2026 earlier this year and was bought by Mike Breslin for $50,000.
