Kimochi Breaks Group Maiden Tag in Light Fingers, Eyes Surround Stakes 2024

[Wandering Eyes]

Gary Portelli‘s progressive filly Kimochi finally shed her bridesmaid’s tag with a thrilling nose victory in the 2024 Light Fingers Stakes at Randwick, kicking off a potentially lucrative Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival campaign.

Kimochi wins 2024 Light Fingers Stakes first-up for breakthrough Black-Type success. Photo: Steve Hart.

The talented daughter of Brave Smash, ridden by Jason Collett, edged out the promising Learning To Fly in a heart-stopping finish, avenging frustrating placements in last year’s Princess Series.

“That gate was a huge help,” said Collett. “She only had a short let-up too so very good.”

Kimochi had been knocking on the door throughout the spring, finishing second in the Group 1 Flight Stakes to Tropical Squall. Today, she showed true grit and determination, refusing to be denied her first major victory.

“I tell you, it’s an amazing feeling,” Portelli exclaimed. “She’s got that tenacity, hasn’t she? Love this filly.”

Learning To Fly, last year’s Golden Slipper victim of interference, showed immense promise in her return, putting in a strong performance for second. Her stablemate Kristilli rounded out the trifecta, further highlighting the depth of talent on display.

With eyes now set on the prestigious $750,000 Surround Stakes on March 2nd, Kimochi faces a tough challenge. However, her Light Fingers Stakes win proves she has the ability to compete at the highest level.

2024 Light Fingers Stakes Results

	Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Penalty	Starting Price
	1	1	KIMOCHI	Gary Portelli	Jason Collett		3	56kg		$6.50
	2	3	LEARNING TO FLY	Annabel Neasham	Chad Schofield	0.07L	11	56kg		$4.20F
	3	5	KRISTILLI	Annabel Neasham	Zac Lloyd (a)	1.83L	8	56kg		$18
	4	12	STEFI MAGNETICA	Bjorn Baker	Joshua Parr	2.26L	9	56kg		$26
	5	7	FACILE	Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou	Tim Clark	2.6L	2	56kg		$13
	6	2	TIZ INVINCIBLE	Ciaron Maher	James McDonald	2.83L	10	56kg		$4.60
	7	9	ARCTIC GLAMOUR	Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou	Kerrin McEvoy	3.09L	7	56kg		$6.50
	8	6	AUTUMN BALLET	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Adam Hyeronimus	3.96L	1	56kg		$14
	9	11	KIND WORDS	Kris Lees	Sam Clipperton	5.38L	5	56kg		$81
	10	4	MUMBAI MUSE	Michael Freedman	Tommy Berry	16.33L	4	56kg		$6.50
	11	13	I’M A STEEL	Barbara Joseph, Paul & Matt Jones	Dylan Gibbons (a)	18L	6	56kg		$81
		8	WEST OF DALBY	Benjamin Smith	Brock Ryan		0
		10	BALLROOM BELLA	Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou	Tyler Schiller		0

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

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