The new pacing Queen of Australia is too stylish

“A massive sigh of relief.”

Those were the words of harness racing trainer-driver Jack Trainor after winning the $200,000 Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Mile with Stylish Memphis at Menangle tonight.

The race is the Ladyship Mile, however, was renamed for this edition in Club Menangle’s participation in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

That then makes Stylish Memphis the first mare  to go back-to-back in the lucrative feature since Tailamade Lombo in 1998-1999.

And Stylish Memphis was not given the feature easy.

The daughter of Bettors Delight was behind the leader Fairy Tinkabell and the tempo was moderate with the first three quarters rolled through in 27.2, 29.4 and 28.4 seconds.

Around the home turn, Trainor pushed his mare into the clear and the pair overcame a final quarter of 26.9 seconds to win by a half-neck from the fast-finishing Spellbound and B K Swy, who Trainor also prepares, more than a metre away in third.

The mile rate on the wet track was a slick 1:51.9.

“She’s been so good to me,” said Trainor.

“It’s a credit to her, she had a chequered passage into the home straight and she just dug deep.

“It felt like every driver was doing their best to keep her in and I put her through a small gap and she handled it . . . she is just a champion mare.”

The performance, however, was not enough for Club Menangle Directors to issue the five-year-old an invitation to the Miracle Mile.

Stylish Memphis was invited to last year’s Miracle Mile after winning the 2021 Ladyship Mile.

To view the results from Menangle on Saturday click here.

By Amanda Rando for Harnesslink