Ferivia upstages unbeaten fillies to win the Quezette Stakes 2025

Lachlan Neindorf’s return to Melbourne racing could not have been scripted better, the young rider claiming Group success at Caulfield aboard a filly he knows inside out. The former Adelaide-based jockey, who shifted to Mornington last season, partnered Ferivia in the Group 3 Quezette Stakes (1100m) and delivered a polished ride to secure victory.

Neindorf had been closely linked to Ferivia from her earliest days, including her debut win at Murray Bridge, and Saturday’s result marked his second win and third top-two finish aboard the filly. He was quick to praise her connections. “Full credit to Phil and the team as she’s quite a hot filly,” Neindorf said.

“I wasn’t confident that she would be able to see out a big preparation. I thought she might taper off because she is so hot, but Phil got the pony on her at trackwork and every run that she had, she has got better and developed and matured as a professional racehorse. That’s going to take her a long way.”

Neindorf added that her racing style suggests she could stretch beyond sprinting. “She has good qualities about her. She knows when to switch on and switch off. She listens to the rider, and I love horses that do that because they are not one dimensional. She’s got a lovely big stride on her and I always thought she had the scope to get 1400 metres to a mile, even though she is from a Street Car family that don’t normally stretch out, but I think she can be on a Thousand Guineas path.”

Trainer Phillip Stokes admitted that while Ferivia’s stamina is still untested, her ability is undeniable. “Is she a sprinter, is she going to get up further in trip? When we get to 1400 metres, that usually sorts them out, so we’ll see how she pulls up and make a plan,” Stokes said after her breakthrough Group win at just start number three.