Beneteau Filly Breaks Through in Inglis Classic

Beneteau filly Twist Tops was rewarded for her consistency with a hard fought win in Saturday's $250,000 Listed Restricted Inglis Classic (1200m) at Randwick.

Ridden by Tommy Berry for Newcastle-based trainer Kris Lees, Twist Tops had few favours in the run being caught three wide the trip.

The gallant filly hit the front half-way down the straight and refused to yield in a fighting neck win over from Sam Pritchard-Gordon's Soviet Secret (Eavesdropper) with Bede Murray's Can't Find Snippy (Snippetson) the same distance back in third. (photo Steve Hart).

"I was caught a bit wide but it's probably the best going," Berry said.

"I could have come back and got cover and I did for a bit but she was going too keen so I elected to pull her back out and just get her to switch off where she was happy.

"She was out on her feet the last 100m but her toughness kicked in.

"She's not the best two-year-old I've ridden this season but she's the toughest and that takes them along way."

Fourth in the Listed Gimcrack Stakes and second behind the highly regarded Scarlett rain at Randwick at her most recent start, Twist Tops broke her maiden at her fourth start while taking her earnings to $178,000.

Bred by Shamus Award's breeder Bob Hannon at his Ascot Park Stud, Twist Tops was passed-in short of her $70,000 reserve at last year's Inglis Classic Yearling Sale and runs for a large syndicate that includes the Hannon family.

She is the third foal of the good racemare Imtops (High Rolling) a 6-time winner in Sydney who is a half-sister to the dam of Group 1 SAJC Australasian Oaks winner Irish Darling (Ivory's Irish) who in turn is the dam of Listed ATC Canonbury Stakes winner and popular young stallion Fighting Sun (Northern Meteor).

A great granddaughter of the phenomenal racemare Battle Eve (Battle Wagon), Imtops has a yearling filly by Foreplay was judiciously mated with Fighting Sun in 2014 that produced a colt born on October 29.