INSPIRATIONAL GIRL MOWS DOWN ZAAKI

Inspirational Girl took her sole opportunity to make the $5 million All-Star Mile field when she ran down favourite Zaaki in a thrilling Group 2 Blamey Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on Saturday.

An All-Star Mile wildcard is granted to the winner of the Blamey and as Inspirational Girl was unable to be nominated for the race due to her being off the scene for the previous 12 months, the Blamey became the one and only focus for the star Perth mare.

Inspirational Girl has to give back three of the six-kilogram difference she enjoyed on Zaaki when they clash again in two weeks but Sportsbet swiftly promoted her onto the second line of betting for the race at $5.50 behind Zaaki ($3.20) after she scored her first win in Melbourne.

Inspirational Girl, who is raced by leading WA owner and breeder Bob Peters, had to find room in the straight when jockey Damian Lane angled her off the fence and trainer Danny O'Brien said he was holding his breath at the time.

"It looked a bit sticky for a while," he said. "I would have preferred if he was out peeling at about the 600m.

"Ultimately, she probably took a bit closer position than what we thought and because of that she was three back on the fence and in a sticky spot.

"She got out in time and she has run down a top-class horse in Zaaki, which is very hard to do."

Inspirational Girl ($4.20) was considered the major danger to Zaaki ($2,30) and so it proved as she hit top speed in the final 100 metres to get up and win by a short neck, while Corner Pocket ($7.50) was game in third place, almost two lengths away.

O'Brien said he feels the mare has more to give in two weeks.

"She hasn't done a lot of racing over the last year-and-a-half and she is a mare who should improve out of this as well as what she did out of the first-up run," he said.

"Two weeks to The All-Star Mile is just a perfect step for her.

"She'll have had the two runs and third-up into The All-Star Mile now that she gets her start in it. We'll certainly have no excuses for her on All-Star Mile Day."

Lane said a slow start had forced his hand to follow Zaaki on the inside rail.

"She just dwelt at the start a little bit, a little bit worse than I had hoped and then I thought 'I can get on the fence and onto the back of Zaaki'," he explained.

"What would normally work against a horse, worked for me. I was able to zip over, find the back of Zaaki and get a great run from there.

"If she hadn't dwelt at the start, I would have ridden her that way, but I'm not sure she would have won either.

"The run that I had and then get up on the back of Corner Pocket and keep Zaaki pocketed away for a little bit, she had a bit of momentum up and she was strong through the line."

Declan Bates said he was delighted with how third-placed Corner Pocket coped with the rise in class. "He's run super. Just a bit outclassed by the first two but he ran his usual gutsy race," he said.

Craig Williams said fourth-placed Mr Brightside ran strongly after taking up the speed.

"I thought under the circumstances being in a foreign position in front we were either going to be three-wide or I'd have to take it up and under those conditions the horse has run extremely well," he said.

Story by Andrew Eddy for Racing.com

Pics by Racing Photos