O'BRIEN QUINELLA IN LADIES DAY VASE

It was a Danny O’Brien quinella in the Group 3 Ladies’ Day Vase at Caulfield on Wednesday, with Sovereign Award getting the better of Fabric in the $200,000 mile race.

Sovereign Award jumped as $3.10 favourite and sat on the speed with stablemate Fabric ($11) throughout the running before edging ahead in the straight.

Fabric finished a half-length second, with the Archie Alexander-trained Chaillot ($6.50) flying home into a close third.

It’s a toss up between a Group 3 at The Valley and the Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes at Flemington for where Sovereign Award goes next.

“We’ll think about it (the Empire Rose),” O’Brien said post-race.

“We’ll possibly go back to Moonee Valley (for the Tesio Stakes) on Saturday week. She does love The Valley. But she’s in a rare vein of form so we certainly won’t be turning her out.”

O’Brien praised jockey Jamie Kah’s relationship with the sometimes ‘challenging’ mare, and thanked his team for persisting with the five-year-old daughter of Shamus Award.

“She’s really clicked with Jamie Kah. She’s had two rides on her now for two wins,” O’Brien said.

“She has been a challenging mare so credit to everyone at home that they’ve persisted with her so far.

“You would have got long odds about her being a Stakes winner 12 months ago but she’s won a Group 3 race here today so it’s fantastic.”

The win adds to Kah’s successful spring and was the first leg of a double on Blue Sapphire Day.

Kah said she was pleased with the run, but the mare needed to learn to settle more to be at her best.

“She’s a different horse when she doesn’t get cover," Kah said.

"She got going at the 800 metres - she really wanted to win today. 

“She was probably a little plain late but that was only because she wanted to get going a bit early.

“She’s just in form at the minute. She’s going super, she’s got a lot of talent. When she learns to drop the bridle a little bit more, I think she’ll be a really nice 2000-metre horse.”

Story by April Austen for Racing.com