The Phoenix Ladies Syndicate broke new ground in their still fledgeling history thanks to a first winner on UK soil.
The Karl Burke trained Little Red Socks showed a lot of professionalism on her racecourse debut to win at Wolverhampton under jockey Ben Curtis.
Breaking well from the innermost stall the three-year-old was quickly into stride as the field set off over the six-furlong trip. Happy to let the odds-on favourite, Dear Power, do all the work Curtis settled his mount just in behind the pace-setter. Travelling strongly in the vanguard throughout, Curtis didn’t make his move until the top of the home straight. With minimal urgings, Little Red Socks quickened nicely and soon hit the front. Lover’s Cry emerged as a late danger, but the Phoenix Ladies’ filly had plenty left and won with a bit in hand.
“She’s a nice filly,” Curtis told Sky Sports Racing. “You could have put a kid on her today. I just sat there, and she did the rest.
“She’s very full of herself and has a lovely way of going. It’s nice to get the win first time out and she’s done it impressively.”
Having recently celebrated their first winner of 2020 when Talento Puma crossed the line in front at Jebel Ali the members of the all-female group will be delighted they didn’t have to wait that long for a second success of the year.
“This is a terrific achievement for our Syndicate,” said Phoenix Ladies Principal Pamela Cordina. “We’ve now had at least one winner in Dubai, Australia and the UK, while we have some exciting horses in the US. When we set up PLS we couldn’t have imagined the success we’ve had. I have to thank Karl Burke and his team for this victory and Ben Curtis for his winning ride. Karl has always spoken warmly about Little Red Socks so hopefully, she can kick on to bigger things.”
Phoenix Ladies currently has eight horses in training in the UK while Forever In Dreams will be targeted at the major sprint prizes this summer from her Irish base.