After being edged out by a nose by Tajana in a thrilling battle in the Gr.3 Sunline Vase (1400m) at Ellerslie four weeks ago, Lollapalooza will try to reverse that result in Saturday’s Gr.2 Windsor Park Stud Soliloquy Stakes over the same course and distance.
Lollapalooza and Tajana have emerged as early standouts in this season’s crop of three-year-old fillies, collecting three Group Three victories between them through August and September.
Tajana was the first to get on the board with a powerful come-from-behind win in the Gr.3 Northland Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) at Ruakaka on August 16.
Lollapalooza burst on to the scene not long afterwards with a brilliant last-to-first performance in the Gr.3 Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) at Ellerslie on September 6.
Those victories set up a tantalising clash in the Sunline Vase, and the race lived right up to expectations. After sitting in third-to-last and second-to-last up until the home turn, Lollapalooza and Tajana both showed their brilliant turn of foot again in the home straight. They charged home out wide on the track and hit the front together with 100m to run, fighting out a head-bobbing battle to the finish with Tajana scoring by the barest of margins.
After those highly impressive spring performances, little separates Lollapalooza and Tajana in fixed-odds betting for both Saturday’s Soliloquy and the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton on November 8.
Lollapalooza just shaded Tajana for Soliloquy favouritism on Friday afternoon, with the TAB offering respective quotes of $3.10 and $3.40. For next month’s 1000 Guineas, the pair share favouritism at $3.50 and are the only two fillies in single figures.
Graham Richardson, who trains Lollapalooza in partnership with Rogan Norvall, is excited to see the rivalry between the two fillies continue on Saturday. But the Matamata trainer warns that the Soliloquy Stakes may not be as simple as another two-horse war.
“It was a really good race last time between a couple of classy fillies, and I’m looking forward to seeing them clash again on Saturday,” Richardson said. “But Stephen Marsh also has a filly in there that looks pretty smart, so it’s going to be an interesting race.”
Richardson was referring to the $6 third favourite Well Written, who made her debut on the Sunline Vase undercard on September 20 and cruised to a super-impressive maiden victory by three lengths.
But Richardson gave a positive report about Lollapalooza, who completed her Soliloquy build-up with a strong 1000m gallop on Matamata’s course proper on Wednesday morning.
“We couldn’t be happier with Lollapalooza,” Richardson said. “She’s come through the Sunline very well. We gave her a couple of quiet days after that race and then started building her up again. She’s been working nicely.
“This is a good race to target in its own right, and all going well, it should also set her up nicely for the 1000 Guineas down in Christchurch. She’s booked to fly down on the 5th of November, and then the plan is to run in the Guineas on the 8th and fly back again on the 10th.”
Lollapalooza was bought by Richardson Racing Stables and Social Racing for just $30,000 from Book 2 of Karaka 2024.
Raced by a pair of syndicates that includes the filly’s breeders Don and Dame Wendy Pye, the daughter of El Roca has so far banked $133,250 from a five-race career.