Midnight In Tokyo delivers first Group win for trainer Todd Pollard

Todd Pollard has celebrated his inaugural Group success with Midnight In Tokyo claiming the Show County Quality at Randwick, a significant milestone just under five months after commencing his training career.

After gaining experience with Annabel and Rob Archibald in Sydney, Pollard relocated to Queensland to manage their satellite operation before embarking on his own training path earlier this year.

His initial impact included securing two Listed victories during the Brisbane winter carnival with Midnight In Tokyo and Zuleika, complemented by a Randwick win with All Kinds Of Folk in July.

However, Midnight In Tokyo's victory in Saturday's Group 3 sprint marked a new high point.

"It's absolute euphoria when it's like this," Pollard commented. "It has its days for sure, but we're lucky we've got a mare like her to be running well for us and to come to Randwick is just so special."

The seven-year-old mare, Midnight In Tokyo, has now staved off immediate retirement following her win and may well earn herself another racing season.

Pollard noted that her residual fitness and strong winter form gave him confidence in her performance, anticipating she would be hard to run down if allowed to lead. Punters reviewing the online bookmakers would have noted the mare's solid winter campaign form entering the Group 3 race.

"There was nothing I could knock about her today, and when she found the front I thought, if he could keep her going (she was a chance)," he stated. "They were coming late, that's for sure. She only just sees out the 1200, but if she can get in a good rhythm, squeeze her up and kick away and put a bit of a margin on them, I thought the favoured horses might be a bit too far back to catch her. It worked perfect."

Midnight In Tokyo is scheduled to return to Queensland, with the Sheraco Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill on September 12 being her probable next start.

Queensland jockey Ben Thompson was equally delighted with the win, praising Pollard's skillful management and placement of the mare.

"I'll tell you what, he's hit a lot of bullseyes in a short amount of time and he nailed it with her," Thompson said. "He knows her really well through taking care of her for Annabel and Rob Archibald prior to going on his own. "She's just a happy mare. She's just turned seven, she's not showing any signs of it."

Midnight In Tokyo's victory secured successive stakes wins for Queenslanders, with Tony Gollan's Pembrey having earlier won the Silver Shadow Stakes (1200m) for three-year-old fillies.

Keep an eye on the Sheraco Stakes at Rosehill, with competitive racing betting markets expected.