Leap To Fame’s little sister is the Eureka outsider worth remembering

Senses (American Ideal – Lettucereason) has the pedigree of a champion and the form of a genuine Group 1 filly, yet she is a $71 chance in TAB’s Eureka market. In our view, that price says more about her absence than her ability.

While her famous half-brothers Leap To Fame and Swayzee are both being prepared for the New Zealand Cup at Addington on November 10, their little sister has not been seen at the races since June.

Her record suggests she belongs in the conversation. The David Thorn-trained three-year-old has had just eight starts for five wins and three seconds, and has never finished worse than second.

Her six runs this season tell the story. She won at Menangle in March, then ran second to Arrhythmia in both her heat and the Group 1 final of the NSW Oaks, the final at $12 on May 2. She came out of it with two wins at Menangle, by 5.9 metres at $1.22 and then by a head in a career-best 1:50.8 on June 6, when she held off The Niteshift.

Thorn was most taken with what she showed between the Oaks heat and the final.

“It was the improvement from the heat to the final which most excited us,” Thorn said.

Then came the setback. Later in June, Thorn revealed an injury that ended plans for the Queensland Oaks, and said she would be given a good break if it proved more than a muscle strain. She has not raced since.

That is why she is $71 and not much shorter. Arrhythmia, the filly who beat her twice, is $21 in the same market.

There is plenty to like about the bigger picture. Senses comes from one of the most remarkable families in Australasian harness racing. Her dam, Lettucereason, has already produced Leap To Fame, who has won 75 of his 95 starts and more than $6.5 million, and Swayzee, a dual NZ Cup winner. Her first foal, Maximus Red, is also by American Ideal and has won 43 races.

Senses was bred by Justin Kahlefeldt and bought by Mitch Lenaghan and Stuart Doughty, who were looking for a broodmare prospect but have been happy to give her the time to show what she can do on the track. Thorn has preached patience from the start, and believes the spell may have done her good.

“I’m sure she’ll come back better again after another good spell,” Thorn said.

The realities are against her for November 21. She has no slot, has not raced for more than four months and would need to return quickly to stake a claim. Slot holders can name runners up to seven days before the race, and the next few weeks of Eureka form will come from horses already racing.

But if Senses does resurface in time, a lightly raced filly who has beaten good company and is bred like few others would be hard to ignore. Thorn has also pointed out that her brothers kept improving with age, and on that evidence the Eureka may come a year too soon.

Connections know far more than we do about where she is in her recovery. Either way, she looks a filly worth following.

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