An interesting sub-plot to the $1m Golden Gift at Rosehill on Saturday sees Phoenix Thoroughbreds go up against Phoenix Ladies Syndicate.
Phoenix Thoroughbreds were delighted with the debut of homebred Cerda when the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained filly finished second at Randwick. Meanwhile, Phoenix Ladies were so impressed with the first start win of Ghostwriter they purchased a significant stake in the Annabel Neasham trainee to enter into a partnership with Mrs Fung. Both horses go into the lucrative Rosehill Gardens contest with leading chances.
For those who are not aware, Phoenix Ladies Syndicate, or ‘PLS’ as they are colloquially known, came to be after a group of female colleagues working on setting up Phonix Thoroughbreds spotted the lack of female participation in racehorse ownership and wanted a platform to help change that. Since their genesis, the members of the all-female team have seen their Orange and White silks carried to victory in Australia, Europe, The UAE and The U.S. Consequently, their presence on the world stage has cultivated a friendly rivalry with Phoenix Thoroughbreds.
Saturday won’t be the first time these two groups have come face to face on the track. Most memorably Advertise led home the then recently purchased Forever In Dreams for a 1-2 finish in the 2019 Commonwealth Cup. Since then, however, the head to head score has been pretty even. Later that same season Forever In Dreams finished ahead of Advertise in the Group One Champions Sprint at Ascot. This past European season, the super grey filly also got the better of Phoenix Thoroughbreds’s filly Back To Brussels in the Phoenix Sprint Stakes having finished behind both her and Lady Penelope in the Ballyogan Stakes. In Australia, the Ladies saw Europhic Summer cross the line in front of Rock Of Kryptonite on both horses’ debuts. At the same time, in Dubai when the two owners have clashed during the domestic season, honours have tended to be shared equally.