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Godolphin filly Exhilarates tackles Group 3 Fred Best Classic

Dubai - The three-year-old has one eye on the prestigious Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap to be held next weekend

Godolphin filly Exhilarates will be contesting the Group 3 Fred Best Classic in Doomben, Australia, with an eye on the prestigious Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap to be held next weekend.
The three-year-old daughter of Snitzel, saddled by James Cummings and the mount of Larry Cassidy, is among a strong field of 14 runners in the over six-furlong affair to be run on turf.
Exhilarates, who will break from stall four, will be taking an important step at the Doomben Racecourse in the lead up to the Stradbroke at the Eagle Farm Racecourse, also in Brisbane, on June 6.
Victory will automatically punch her ticket for the Stradbroke but a defeat will still give Exhilarates a berth in one of the Group 1 races further down the season.
"She's drawn well and I'm happy with this race as a lead-up to the Stradbroke next week," said Cummings.
"Racing this weekend gives her the opportunity to perform on a seven-day backup which she's shown that she appreciates," he added.
Exhilarates has a busy schedule, so to speak, with her previous run, a third-place finish in the Group 3 Gold Coast Guineas at the Gold Coast Turf Club two weeks ago.
"She's a tough filly who thrives on that sort of programme. That was the case when she won the Magic Millions Two-Year-Old," Cummings said.
"We considered this race and the Coughlan very carefully and came to the conclusion that this was the way to go despite coming up against some strong three-year-olds," added Godolphin's head trainer in Australia.
As Exhilarates tackles the Fred Best Classic, her stablemate Multaja races in the Coughlan Stakes, also at the same venue.
"When she won this race last year it was run over 1,200m. It remains to be seen whether she can be quite as effective at 1,350m," said Cummings.
james@khaleejtimes.com