The raid of the New Zealand Oaks winner Boundless (NZ) on the Australian Jockey Club’s feature $500,000, Group I, JP Morgan Australian Oaks (2400m) fell just short at Randwick on Wednesday, after the difference in the barrier draws saw Heavenly Glow win by a half-neck over Boundless.

Heavenly Glow, ridden by Robert Thompson and trained by Allan Denham at Rosehill, had barrier five, while Boundless, ridden by Damien Oliver and trained by Trevor McKee, had barrier 10.

After the start All Black Miss and Shane Dye took the lead and $3.30 favourite Zarita (NZ) and Greg Childs went forward from barrier eight to second. Robert Thompson settled Heavenly Glow quietly in the rear group and Damien Oliver took Boundless across and around the field to join Zarita, however it took him 1000m to get to that position.

Down the back straight All Black Miss was 5L out in front and it was left to Zarita and Boundless to face the breeze as they watched Dye step out the tempo up ahead. They came back to All Black Miss with 1000m to run, but then Dye went again with 600m to run.

Entering the straight All Black Miss still had 3L on the field, but she was tiring. Coming over the hill with 300m to run Oliver had Boundless in front, racing in the middle of the track. Zarita had gone, Galileo’s Daughter was making a bid, but it was Thompson on Heavenly Glow who appeared racing the widest of all, but with an uninterrupted run at the leader.

Heavenly Glow and Boundless (Van Nistelrooy) settled down to a battle to the line leaving the rest of the field behind, and it was the Spinning World filly who prevailed at the winning post.

Galileo’s Daughter (Galileo) as third, the margin 3L.  Queen Of Queens was fifth, 4 1/2L from the winner and Pentura (NZ) was fifth, 5L from the winner. Zarita was eighth. The time was 2.34.76 on the dead (5) track, and the final 600m was covered in 37.59. Heavenly Glow paid $4.90 on NSW TAB.

The Jack Denham trained Spinning World filly started life in Taree when trainer Ross Stitt purchased her for $10,000 as a yearling at the Magic Millions Winter Sale, and then sent her to Denham at Rosehill last month as she was ‘getting too much weight’ racing in the northern NSW regions and that the filly was a bad traveller.

“Her second preparation she came good. She was a little immature before,” said Stutt who came down from Taree with 16 others for the day in a bus.

“After her second preparation I said to the boys that we have got a serious horse here. From then on she just kept improving. I said to the boys that I had better take her down to Sydney as she was not the best traveller in the world and to give her a chance and they all agreed.

“I owned him (Denham) a favour, probably not that big as a favour,” he said with a laugh.

Stitt has being training for 43 years and Thompson has been riding for him for nearly 25 years with ‘not a cross word between them.’ It was the stipulation that when Heavenly Glow was transferred to Denham that Thompson remained her race jockey.

He said that he always sends his city class horses to a city trainer.

He said that Denham would now plan to travel Heavenly Glow to Brisbane with the Queensland Oaks the target, and then spell in Queensland.

Stitt said that he had only had two runners in a Group I race, Heavenly Glow in her Arrowfield Stakes win at Rosehill on April 19th and on Wednesday.

“I have won Group II’s and III’s but never had a runner in a Group I before,” he said.

The ownership group includes an ex-publican, a bricklayer who was in a horse trained by Stitt called Youthful Boy, and the breeder of Youthful Boy, and they raced that horse together, and then joined in the ownership of Heavenly Glow.

“She was brave and jumped well, and when the winner got to her she fought on strongly,” said Oliver of Boundless.

Trainer Steven McKee said that the filly would now enter quarantine to return to New Zealand to spell.

“I knew that I was in for a bit of a fight with Damien’s filly and she fought back well, but I knew that my filly is very strong and she has a good sprint on her,” said Thompson.

“She is a best three-year-old filly that I have ridden so I always knew that she had plenty of potential when Ross started off with her, and we were winning 1200m races with her. I said wait until she gets to 2000m as that is when I reckon we would get the best from her.

“She has come a long way and I would like to thank Allan Denham as he has done a hell of a lot with her. I think he has bought her to the next level since he has had her,” he added.

Heavenly Glow is by Spinning World out of the Celestial Bounty mare Starsphere and she is owned by Stitt, WJ Rollings, DK Berber and Mrs D Hughes. She has won two Group I races in succession after winning the Arrowfield Stakes, and eight races in total from 15 starts. Her stakes have lifted to $631,800.