Pinker link with Papillon

By Andrew Eddy – Racing.com
13 September 2023

Papillon Club can revive great memories of Pinker Pinker for her trainer Greg Eurell if she can win Saturday’s Group 2 Let’s Elope Stakes at Flemington.

Earlier this month, Papillon Club mirrored the fifth placing in the G3 Cockram Stakes that Pinker Pinker achieved first-up in 2011 and if she can also follow her lead and win the Let’s Elope (1400m), all kinds of spring possibilities open up for the four-year-old mare.

In her year, Pinker Pinker next ran second in the G2 Stocks Stakes (1600m) at The Valley before a second placing in the G1 Epsom Handicap (1600m) at Randwick was followed by her glorious Cox Plate boilover.

Notably, Eurell has nominated Papillon Club for both the Epsom Handicap and Cox Plate.

“We’ll keep progressively stepping up and once we hit the 1600 (metres) it will be interesting to see what she suggests from there,” Eurell said this week.

“Whether she’s looking for further or 1600m might be the mark.

“It worked well for her (Pinker Pinker). It’s a big step but it worked well.

“The time worked out really good. The space between runs, it was a good build-up, especially coming out of the Epsom, it was a huge guide for us leading in the Cox Plate and certainly gave us confidence.

“For Papillon Club, there is a lot of opportunity for mares leading forward into the spring and you can still get to your grand final. You don’t have to take the one track.”

WATCH: Papillon Club’s biggest win so far in the Alexandra Stakes

 

Papillon Club, who Eurell bought as a yearling for $70,000, was a Stakes winner at 1600m in the autumn and was also Group-placed in the G2 Kewney Stakes (1600m) and G3 Vanity Stakes (1400m).

She was a close-up fifth when she resumed over 1200m in the G3 Cockram Stakes at Caulfield.

“I thought it was a terrific run first-up,” Eurell said. “The way the race was run it probably didn’t suit her 100 per cent but she stuck to her guns and it was a good solid hit-out for her leading into Saturday.

“Saturday is fairly strong and it will be a very good race to probably get a guide on exactly where she sits at the moment and what path we take from there.”

Papillon Club’s run of stern tests begins with the Let’s Elope Stakes, where she runs straight into Perth Star Amelia’s Jewel.