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GR1 AUCKLAND CUP
LADIES FIRST (NZ) 2012
5 M (Dylan Thomas - Just Polite by Dehere)
Run over 3200m on March 10, 2018 at Ellerslie
Prizemoney: $482,000
Trainer: S A Sharrock
Jockey: J Parkes
Time: 03:22.2
Track Conditions: Good(3)
Race Club: ARC
Winners Details
Sale: 2014 National Weanling, Broodmare & Mixed Sale
Vendor: Blandford Lodge
Breeder: Go Bloodstock New Zealand Ltd, Waikato, NZ
Buyer: HT O'Leary
Purchase Price: $8,000
Sales Co: NZB
Then came: Five to Midnight, The Wildflower, Alinko Prince, Zacada, Sir Charles Road, Here He Comes, Excalibur, Magic Chai, Show the World, Sampson, Diesel, Araldo Junior, Von Tunzelman, Smedley, Kaharau, Toni May

At Ellerslie in New Zealand, European Horse of the Year and 6 time-winning shuttle stallion Dylan Thomas (Danehill-Lagrion, by Dieses) celebrated a Gr1 triumph when 5YO mare Ladies First (Dylan Thomas-Just Polite, by Dehere) scored by 0.1-length for trainer Alan Sharrock in the $500,000 Auckland Cup (3200m) for 3YOs+, defeating 5YO gelding Five To Midnight & fellow 5YO mare Wildflower. "She was posted three wide around one bend and then two bends and I said she can't win," Sharrock revealed. "I'm rapt, but I did think she had got beaten on the line. I'm a bit shocked really – I thought she had run second. They all thought she was a wet-tracker, but her last three wins have been on firm tracks." Ladies First, an $8,000 bargain buy at the 2014 NZB National Weanling, Broodmare & Mixed Bloodstock Sale, took her record to 9 wins (including last year's Gr3 Wanganui Cup) & 3 placings from just 16 starts for $480,760 earnings. Connections are now considering having a tilt at this year's Gr1 Melbourne Cup, however first she'll head to the paddock ahead of a possible start in the Gr1 Livamol Classic.