Shopaholic Too Good Again

WS’s Shopaholic followed up her defeat of classic winner Mosheen in last weekend’s Gr 3 The Vanity at Flemington with a dominant win in the Gr 2 Angus Armanasco Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield.

Ridden by Glen Boss, the daughter of Pins and the O’Reilly mare Splashing Out came from midfield to defeat last start Listed stakes winner Soft Sand by a length with Cute Emily a further one and a quarter lengths back in third.

The victory takes Shopaholic’s overall record to five wins, a second and two thirds from 10 starts for earnings of $A283,044.

Trainer Danny O’Brien said she would now back up in the Kewney Stakes in a fortnight.

“She is a very high class filly and we ran her last week to have her cherry ripe for today and obviously she beat Mosheen last week but she stripped fitter today and she was very impressive. You could easily make a case to say she should be unbeaten in Australia. The two times she got beaten in the spring she was desperately unlucky and every time she is going to the races she is going up a notch.”

Shopaholic is the first named foal of the former top-class O’Reilly mare Splashing Out who was also trained by O’Brien.

She won her first three starts including the Gr 3 Thoroughbred Club Stakes before finishing second to Gold Edition in the Gr 1 Ascot Vale Stakes. Her dam Iguazu (Carolingian) was also a talented performer winning a pair of Group Three races in New Zealand. Pins has six yearlings catalogued for the Inglis Premier Yearling sale and a further seven at Easter, including four from Waikato Stud.