The beginning was perfect, and the end was just as good if not better for The Boss Lady.
After winning the Roma Cup (1100m) first up at Ascot, Michael Lane’s classy mare capped an outstanding campaign of racing with a second weight-for-age victory in the Group 3 Belmont Sprint (1400m) at Pinjarra on Wednesday.
It was The Boss Lady’s third stakes triumph after the Listed Jungle Dawn Classic (1400m) last November and takes her overall record to 11 wins from 20 starts and nearing $1 million in prizemoney.
Ridden by Shaun McGruddy, The Boss Lady powered home to beat a high-class field in the Belmont Sprint, outpointing the ever-consistent Magnificent Andy by a neck with another short neck to West Star.
With an eye to the rich Ascot carnival later this year, Lane was glowing in his assessment of his stable pin up.
He says the best is yet to come from The Boss Lady.
“I always said she would get better with age,” Lane said on Tabradio.
“I’ve got no doubt in my mind.
“I don’t think she’s at her peak yet.
“What we’ve seen this prep; she’s raised the bar.
“It won’t surprise me at all if she raises it again.
“She’s grown a lot in herself, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she came back a bit better next prep.
“She doesn’t have to improve much and she’s on an upwards spiral.”
Lane has ruled out sending The Boss Lady east, for the short term at least.
He has two feature races on home soil that he will target.
“Definitely stay here for the Winterbottom (1200m) and Gold Rush (1400m),” Lane said.
“We’ll worry about it (going east) after that, if it comes, it comes
“Definitely staying home for the moment.”
Lane says holding the Belmont Sprint at Pinjarra after the meeting was called off following race four on Saturday proved to be a blessing in disguise for The Boss Lady.
“I think it worked in our favour, to be honest,” Lane said.
“She’d rather be on the fresh side a bit.
“I rode her Monday morning at the track, and she felt enormous.
“She felt really well, and I thought she would take some rocking if she got the right run.”
It was double joy for Lane at Pinjarra with Six Shooter winning a tight tussle in race nine.
Julio Santarelli