Aussie Girl notches first North American stakes victory with Noble Damsel
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Aussie Girl made up for lost time and got her first North American stakes victory Sunday at Aqueduct, holding off a late run from favored Tax Implications to win the $150,000 Noble Damsel Stakes by a neck.
Aussie Girl was making just her second start of 2025 and first since February, when she finished fourth in the Heavenly Prize Stakes over Aqueduct’s main track.
Trainer Will Walden said the filly had some bone bruising that cost her to be away from the races for so long.
Aussie Girl, as she can be, was pumped up under Dylan Davis as she broke on top and was keen going into the first turn. However, the Argentine-bred mare Coni Fizz was even more pumped up and dragged Jorge Ruiz to the lead while running an opening quarter in 23.32 seconds.
Davis did his best to keep Aussie Girl controlled and kept her in second along the rail, inside of Mrs. Gambolini, turning for home. Davis guided Aussie Girl to the two path, she overtook Coni Fizzi in upper stretch, and had enough to hold off a run from the four-wide rallying Tax Implications to get the victory. Tax Implications, the 4-5 favorite, finished 1 1/4 lengths clear of late-running Feather Boa for third.
Aussie Girl improved her career record to 5 for 18, two of those wins coming for Walden from five starts since she was sent to him last year.
“I thought Dylan did as good a job as he could do getting her to relax, but she really didn’t, he said, she never really shut off, she’s just aggressive like that,” Walden said by phone from Kentucky. “The Galileo on the bottom side of that pedigree, they’re just fierce, tenacious competitors. He gave her a great trip without a doubt, saved all the ground, kept her on the rail, she was there for him when he needed her.”
Aussie Girl, a 5-year-old Irish-bred daughter of Starspangledbanner owned by John Sykes’s Woodford Thoroughbreds, covered the mile over firm turf in 1:36.73 and returned $10.04 as the second choice.
Last year, Aussie Girl won a third-level allowance race at Keeneland and then tried the Grade 1 Matriarch at Del Mar, where she finished ninth, beaten four lengths. Walden said he would love to try the Matriarch again, but that might not be his decision to make.
Aussie Girl is catalogued to be sold at the Keeneland November sale in a couple of weeks. Aussie Girl will return to Walden at Churchill Downs.
“We’ll get with Mr. Sykes and see what the plan is going forward,” Walden said.
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