Forbidden Love continues her stella form with a dominant victory in the George Ryder.
Having brought up her second Group 1 victory a fortnight ago in the Canterbury Stakes (1300m), Forbidden Love wasted little time in adding a third to the tally with an impressive display to take out the George Ryder, with all avenues now pointing towards next month's Doncaster Mile.
Holding a remarkable record on Heavy going (7:6-0-0), the four-year-old was once again treated to a preferred soggy surface (Heavy 9) and was sent out a well-supported favourite ($2.40) when rising to 1500m.
Away one of the best from her low draw, jockey Hugh Bowman was happy to keep his mount under wraps in the early stages, allowing his filly to take a sit behind the speed and settle one off the fence.
Edging out to a three-wide position when rounding the home turn, Bowman quickly injected the mare into the race and hit the front at the 200m.
Promptly putting pay to her rivals, Forbidden Love skipped away and cruised to the line to defeat the fast-finishing Collette by just over a length.
With the Doncaster Mile just around the corner, co-trainer Michael Freedman is eager to improve on last year's midfield finish but will have to put the feelers out in search of a jockey who can get in at 50kgs.
"If she got the right sort of conditions, which you can do at that time of year, I wouldn't say it's out of the question," Freedman said.
"She ran in the Doncaster last year and I thought she ran terrific. She is probably in better form now than she was back then so we will see how she pulls up.
"I've had a chat to Jamie Kah's manager. We agreed to get through today and then have another chat."
The Doncaster Mile (1600m) will be run at Randwick on April 2.
A mare in form and a force to be reckoned with, FORBIDDEN LOVE takes out the George Ryder! @Freedman_bros @HugeBowman @aus_turf_club pic.twitter.com/gFA2zWYhS7
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) March 19, 2022
