It’s easy to get carried away when colts or fillies produce dominant displays against their age group. The temptation is to prematurely label them as outstanding, a champion, a galloper of the kind we have rarely seen before.
Thus it would be wise to exercise caution when rushing to judgement about the future potential of Proxima Dea, impressive winner of the Crown Oaks on Thursday. But only for a brief while.
On this occasion perhaps a little more exuberance than usual will turn out to be justified given the manner of her success and her potential upside.
She came from the outside barrier and was wide for all of the contest but still had enough in reserve to win well. Add to that the fact that she has, in the past, beaten the males at Group 1 level and that the Oaks win was her sixth in a row in a career that that still sees her unbeaten.
No wonder her trainer, Sydney based South African expatriate David Payne, was dreaming of a Melbourne Cup campaign next year. She certainly showed she can handle the distractions of a big crowd on Oaks Day, and with normal improvement and development from three to four the 3200 metres of the Cup next year could well be within her compass.
”I want to win the Melbourne Cup, so maybe I’ll have to hang in there,” said Payne as he savoured the victory.
“Maybe next year at the Melbourne Cup, who knows? We’ll have a look at it and see, why not, if she matures? We know she’ll get the trip anyway.
“She’ll have a good spell and we’ll let her mature. She’s got to mature, she’s still a baby, but she has the heart. I’m very fortunate the owners gave her to me. We have a good team behind us and it’s about time we won a decent race here.”
It has been a meteoric rise in a career that has now seen Proxima Dea win between 1400 metres – the trip when she won a Randwick two year old race on debut in July as a $51 chance – and the Oaks distance of 2500 metres, with victories also coming at 1600 metres, 1800 metres (twice) and 2000 metres.
The latter occasion was also in group 1 company in the Spring Champion Stakes at Randwick.
Payne’s daughter of Tarzino came into the Flemington classic as a hot favourite and she had by far the best credentials in the race.
But as ever, when a three year old at this stage of the season steps up to what is for them a marathon trip there will always be questions.
Would she see out the journey? Would she handle the Victorian way of going? Could she defy the draw and plot a winning course from such an unpromising starting position.
Zac Lloyd, who has now piloted her to her last three victories, had plenty of confidence in his partner and it was not misplaced.
He was happy to keep her rolling in a wide berth within striking distance of the leaders, confident her stamina and class would ensure she would triumph.
She struck the front in the straight and while the James McDonald partnered De Armas looked at one stage as though she would give her a battle the Payne prepared filly simply kept finding more and in the end was going away once more in the final 100 metres as De Armas wilted in the final strides to concede second place to outsider Shameful Impulse.
Autumnal riches now surely await in Sydney, with the Oaks, Derby and other group 1 contests looking to be within Proxima Dea’s remit and the prospect of Cup campaigns next year.
But for now Payne is happy to bask in the success of a plan conceived months ago which has now borne fruit.
“She’s such a good mover and I think she doesn’t spend an ounce of energy. She’d bred to stay and from day one I said the Oaks and I stuck to it. Maybe I should have gone for the Derby. I don’t know. But now she’ll go for a holiday now, she deserves it. This is her first prep, she’s won six in a row and two Group Ones.”
Zac Lloyd’s father Jeff rode winners for Payne and he was delighted to be following in his dad’s footsteps.
“She’s unbelievable. That was spine tingling. She jumped really well and there was a bit of jostling for a spot early and I didn’t want to be the one working into that bend. I came out of the speed knowing that I might get caught wide but I was hoping the speed would increase down the side and have my chance to get in. I had to take what I was given and trust I was on the best stayer on the day, and that she was.
“Although I was wide, we weren’t going quick and I was in a straight line, so I just focused on her. She was in a lovely rhythm. She was very, very just on it, ready for me today and David’s training was fantastic. She was fresh enough, but she was still able to stay as she did, so super pleased.”
“I don’t know how far we ended up winning by but she covered a lot more ground than the rest of them. I felt one challenge at about the 200-300 metre mark but she just keeps getting stronger and stronger and fifty metres later that horse was gone so she’s a proper star.”
“She’s got the right trainer to do it, we said all along, as long as David was confident, I had nothing to worry about.
You can see her in record, she won by little margins in 1400, a mile, 1800. But once she stepped up to 2000 against the boys in the Spring Champion, she won comfortably. And then today she won even more dominantly so she’s obviously a very good stayer.”
