Innovation Girl Looks The Goods
By Mark Ryan of AAP Racing 24/08/02

Highly-rated filly Innovation Girl is likely to take on the colts and geldings in the Group Two $350,000 Ascot Vale Stakes after she scored an impressive win in today's Listed $100,000 Quezette Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield.

Trainer Brian Mayfield-Smith backed up the Rubiton filly from her win in last week's Crockett Stakes (1000m) at Moonee Valley and took the blinkers off her for today's assignment.

Despite drawing one from the outside, Innovation Girl was sent out the favourite and settled midfield before powering home to defeat outsider Raven Protector by two lengths with Blue Diamond runner-up Brief Embrace a short neck away third.

"I always had the feeling that she would be better with the blinkers off," Mayfield-Smith said.

"They've done the job, she doesn't need them anymore."

The Flemington trainer said Innovation Girl had shown today what a tough filly she was, recovering from a hard run last week.

"She just bounced around like a rubber ball," he said.

Mayfield-Smith said he was tempted to run Innovation Girl in the Ascot Vale (1200m) at Flemington on September 7 because the fillies get a 2.5 kilogram weight allowance over the colts and geldings in the set-weights event.

He said he was not even scared of taking on the brilliant Bel Esprit who returned to racing so well in last Saturday's Mitchell McKenzie Stakes at Moonee Valley running 59.04, 0.85s faster than Innovation Girl did for the 1000 metres later in the day.

"I've got great respect for Bel Esprit, but I have never been frightened of him," Mayfield-Smith said.

However Innovation Girl is unlikely to clash with Bel Esprit in the Ascot Vale as the Royal Academy colt is being aimed at the Group One $350,000 Manikato Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on September 14.

Innovation Girl's time of 1:9.94 today for the 1200 metres was 0.16s faster than Delago Brom's time in winning the Vain Stakes.

The filly has only been beaten once in seven starts and Mayfield-Smith said his ratings men in Sydney had told him last autumn that she was the best filly in Australia.

But she was spelled after being narrowly beaten by Yell in the Veuve Clicquot Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield, missing the Blue Diamond, won by Bel Esprit, the following week.

Brief Embrace did a good job to finish third today after coming from the outside barrier.

AAP TURF mr/kc/gm