By MIKE DILLON
Sir Patrick Hogan's words came rushing back as Tall Poppy dashed over the line to group one success in Saturday's $100,000 Lion Red Stakes at Ellerslie.
Last month at Trentham Sir Patrick was asked for his opinion on the extraordinary improvement of his New Zealand and Wellington cups-winning mare Smiling Like.
Did she conform to the widely held opinion that a good percentage of mares put lengths on their form racing in foal.
"No," said one of the international industry's true horsemen, "my experience has been that it has nothing to do with ability levels, what it does is settle down highly strung mares to a point where they perform better."
Snap for Saturday. Tall Poppy has always been fizzy and her dual group one-winning partner of the last two months, David Walsh, is certain the in-foal factor was huge on Saturday.
"I've had experience of it before. When I was training a couple of years ago I had a mare Isolette. You couldn't do anything with her, so we put her in foal.
"She won four of her next eight races."
But Walsh feels there are hormonal cycles within the theory.
"When she won the Thorndon Mile at Trentham she was relaxed, yet she was on edge before the big race at Te Rapa when she was beaten.
"This time she was relaxed."
Tall Poppy settled well in second place against just an ordinary pace set by Hero and was there to challenge early in the run home.
For a while she looked like being run down and although there was only a long head between her and Showella at the winning post, Walsh felt she was never going to be beaten.
He is probably right - it was only a courageous lunge by Showella that dramatically narrowed the margin in the three strides.
Tall Poppy now retires with group one wins at 1400m, 1600m and Saturday's 2000.
"This win was important and we owe it to our trainer Noel Eales," said co-owner Rex Fell. "Noel convinced us to keep going after the Thorndon Mile and he talked us into it again to have one more crack in this race after she was beaten at Te Rapa."
Eales, recovering at home at Palmerston North on Saturday following a back operation, had decided to have Tall Poppy led to the start at Ellerslie.
Rex Fell says he was 18 when the family won its first group one at Ellerslie, Ajasco's Railway Handiap.
"A few years later we came back on the same raceday and Harp was beaten a nose in the Auckland Cup and two races later Ajasco's daughter Silver Liner won the Railway."
Tall Poppy is now officially retired to Rex and brother Gerald's Fairdale Stud to foal to Kaapstad in the spring.
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