Exhilarates warms up for G1 Stradbroke with G3 Doomben outing

Brilliant filly Exhilarates reverts to a proven formula when she tackles Saturday’s G3 Fred Best Classic at Doomben prior to lining up for her major autumn mission in the G1 Stradbroke Handicap at Eagle Farm a week later.

Exhilarates would earn automatic entry into the Stradbroke should she win at Doomben, although she may still gain a start in one of the final G1 races of the Australian season should she be beaten.

Trainer James Cummings also considered running the filly in the G3 Helen Coughlan Stakes, a race for fillies and mares, on the same Doomben program, but has preferred to keep her to her own age.

“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,” Cummings said.

“She’s drawn well and I’m happy with this race as a lead-up to the Stradbroke next week.”

Cummings is confident Exhilarates can handle the short break between races, pointing out that she proved the point in the biggest win of her career in the Magic Millions 2YO classic.

“Racing this weekend gives her the opportunity to perform on a seven-day backup which she’s shown that she appreciates,” he said.

“That was the case when she won the Magic Millions Two-Year-Old.”

“She’s a tough filly who thrives on that sort of program.”

“All the reports from the team in Brisbane are strong, she’s sharp, I’m told she looks very well and she galloped nicely on Tuesday.”

With Exhilarates going to the Fred Best, her stablemate Multaja is the sole representative in the Coughlan Stakes, a race she won in 2019.

“When she won this race last year it was run over 1,200m,” Cummings said.

“It remains to be seen whether she can be quite as effective at 1,350m, but she’s been running home very well over the shorter trip and it could be that she’ll get the chance to settle a little closer.”

Act of generosity

Valentine Bulthoff was a finalist in the 2019 Trophées du Personnel des Courses et Elevage.

Behind Valentine’s discreet nature lies a talented rider, known for her perfectionism at work, and her attentiveness to others, qualities which means she has become a vital support to Chantilly-based trainer Markus Munch in the running of his yard.

What is less well-known is that her natural compassion first led her into a career in nursing, where she remained for several years. Through riding in her spare time Valentine discovered retrained racehorses, which in turn led to her to try out riding in a racing yard.

For a while she tried to combine her mornings on the track with her nursing schedule but it eventually became too difficult, so she chose to dedicate her career to horses. It will be of no surprise to those who know her that she quickly climbed into a position of responsibility.

Valentine was nominated for the 2019 Trophées du Personnel by her employer which was supported by her colleagues, and was one of three exceptional finalists in the Rider/Groom category.

Having won €2,000 for reaching the finals Valentine’s thoughts turned to how she would spend her well-deserved winnings and she quickly decided to support the cause of horse welfare, in particular aftercare for former racehorses.

As she watched the impact the Covid crisis was having on the activity of aftercare structures, and the potential need for more horses to be retired from racing, she made a donation of €2,000 to French racing’s aftercare charity, ADDP.

“I fully support Au-Delà des Pistes in the work they are doing, their actions and organization are very well thought-out and effective and I felt that supporting this charity in particular would ensure the greatest possible benefit from the money I wanted to donate.

Aftercare has always been a very important consideration for Valentine in a horse’s career, and she takes personal responsibility for all the horses that leave the yard where she works, if they are not being retired to a stud for breeding.