Silent Achiever denies Carlton House in Ranvet

The build-up to Saturday's Group 1 Ranvet was all about Fiorente and It's a

Dundeel, but neither of the principals was involved at the finish. Instead, it

was the Kiwi mare Silent Achiever who got up at the line to deny front-running

Carlton House in a thriller at Rosehill.

The 2012 New Zealand Derby winner and champion of her

generation at home that season, Silent Achiever was fifth behind Foreteller in last year's

Ranvet, second to Victoria Derby hero Fiveandahalfstar in the BMW and fourth,

five lengths adrift of Reliable Man in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. The homebred was blinkered for a narrow Ellerslie handicap success February 15 and was crossing the Tasman off a handy score in the

New Zealand going this  1 1/4-mile distance March 8.

Silent Achiever was on something of a mission,

having missed last year's Melbourne Cup via injury, and proved gamest in the finish.

The Queen's Carlton House set sail for the lead and began to widen his lead

beneath Kerrin McEvoy at the midway point as Silent Achiever was positioned to have first crack

at the front-runner. Carlton House appeared to be coming back to the rest of the runners, but

he rebroke at the 400-meter mark, as Silent Achiever and It's a Dundeel rallied

wide, and Fiorente struggled to land a blow.

Carlton House pinched a break and was still going

strong into the final half-furlong, but Nash Rawiller kept after the mare and got her head down on

the wire. It's a Dundeel was a bit flat in the stretch in third, while Fiorente was done at

the 100-meter mark and beat just two home.

"This is right up there with my biggest thrills in

racing," trainer Roger James told AAP. "Look at the past winners of this race, look at the field

she's struck today. It's been billed as the race to determine the best horse in Australia."

Silent

Achiever will try to go one better in the BMW in two weeks before the QE II or

the Sydney

Cup, both contested April 19.

While Carlton House's bold bid just failed in the Ranvet, Steps in Time

pulled off a daring wire job in the Group 1 Coolmore Classic, under a

brilliantly-judged ride by Jim Cassidy.

Steps in Time was third in the Gilgai at

Flemington October 5 and dropped one spot in the Tristarc at Caulfield a couple of weeks later before

a midpack eighth behind Fontelina and Spirit of Boom in the Yellowglen November 2. The bay resumed with a solid runner-up effort to

Catkins in the Breeders' Classic going six furlongs over this course February 15 and offered

good value in this bulky field.

Fastest out from the middle of the gate, Steps in Time set the pace

while well away from the inside before edging down toward the fence rounding the first

corner. She built a menacing advantage entering the straight and was still well clear

into the final furlong, but began to shorten stride as Sweet Idea charged and the wire came in

the nick of time. Favored Catkins sat a decent trip two from a wide draw, but didn't show any

real punch to finish a one-paced third.

"It was probably a bit of a bold call to bring her

here second up but I just thought it was the best way to go with her," trainer Joe Pride told AAP of

the mare who was eighth in the event in 2012 and fourth 12 months back. "We came here

having been narrowly beaten by Catkins, meeting her a little bit better at the weights, I

knew she would improve and couldn't be happier with the result."

The Rosehill card also featured a pair of course-and-distance preps for the

A$3.5-million Golden Slipper in two weeks' time.

Ghibellines, a half-brother to Guelph,

who won two-thirds of the juvenile Triple Crown in 2013, had been

somewhat disappointing in three racetrack appearances entering the Group 2

Todman for colts and geldings. A debut fourth in the Breeders' Plate back in October,

the Darley homebred returned from a four-month absence with a third in the listed Canonbury over

this track February 15 and was a last-out fifth in Canberra's Black Opal on March 9.

One of the

longest shots on the board, Ghibellines was last away and was difficult to settle as he dropped out

to the back of the field. Still last as they reached the head of the stretch, he rallied up the

inside, accelerated to split horses and hit the front four off the inside at the 200-meter mark

and worked home nicely for the win.

In the Group 2 Reisling for fillies, Earthquake made it a clean sweep of the afternoon's

juvenile events for Sheikh Mohammed, jockey Kerrin McEvoy and trainer Peter Snowden and

tightened her grip on favoritism for the Golden Slipper.

A handy debut winner at Randwick November 9, the homebred

validated odds-on favoritism in the Blue Diamond Prelude at Caulfield February 8 before

defeating the boys in Melbourne's top juvenile test, the Blue Diamond February 22. Hustled

across to lead turning down the side of the course, Earthquake took some midrace pressure

from Mossfun and still had that one breathing down her neck into the final furlong and a

half, but stayed on gamely to remain undefeated.

And Snowden says the best is yet to come.

"To

me, she hasn't peaked," Snowden told AAP. "This filly, she hasn't blossomed into that fit horse yet.

Fresh like that, to go and lead all the way like she did with fit horses and beat them well. It

shows you what sort of talent she's got."

Earthquake will look to give her sire Exceed and Excel a second straight

Slipper winner when she reappears here April 5.

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