Srikandi

Srikandi (foaled 10 October 2010) is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse trained in Australia. She won the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap and Tattersall's Tiara. She won over two million dollars.

Srikandi
Sire	Dubawi
Grandsire	Dubai Millennium
Dam	Raining
Damsire	Hurricane Sky
Sex	Mare
Foaled	10 October 2010
Country	Australia
Colour	Chestnut
Owner	T A Mobbs P Tsimiklis T Mcgrath J M Bridges J Bridges A J Sinclair S Gillespie S Loughnan D J H Anderson D S Purvis Ms A Purvis W Stapleton L Lamude & C Ntzounas
Trainer	Ciaron Maher
Record	15-9-2-1
Earnings	A$2,377,900
Major wins
Glenlogan Park Stakes (G3)(2014) Victory Stakes (G2)(2015) Stradbroke Handicap (G1)(2015) Tattersall's Tiara (G1)(2015)

Career

Ridden by Craig Williams, Srikandi had her first race on September 13 2013, winning by a length over the 1000 metre course.[1]

After 3 trials early in 2014, and then a narrow loss at Moonee Valley, Srikandi had an easy win at Mornington. This was to be the first of five consecutive victories. On 3 May, she won her first listed race. Three weeks later, she won the Group 3 Glenlogan Park Stakes in a "dominant" performance. Jockey Glen Boss said, "I wanted to see how good she was today and she didn't disappoint me. Coming out of the gates she was looking to relax and I could've ridden her behind the others without any trouble at all which is great from a future viewpoint."[2]

Owners then paid a $23,000 late entry fee to make Srikandi eligible for the Stradbroke Handicap, entering the race as the $4.50 favourite.[3] She placed third behind River Lad and Temple of Boom.

Over the next nine months, Srikandi had no races and one trial. She returned to Queensland in April for the 2015 Winter Carnival. She won her first race, the Group 2 Victory Stakes, besting the two horses that had beaten her in the previous year's Stradbroke. Trainer Maher said, "After a long break you put a nice foundation on them and hope they're right and she's a lot heavier mare than what she was last year round. It's just great to kick off with a win."[4]

After two failures in May, including bungling the start of the BTC Cup, Srikandi won her first Group 1, the $2 million Stradbroke Handicap, in May. With regular jockey Damian Browne unable to make the weight, Srikandi was ridden by Kerrin McEvoy.[5]

A fortnight later, Srikandi won her second Group 1 in the Tattersall's Tiara, her third victory on the Gold Coast without loss. Despite a wide barrier, Srikandi controlled the tempo throughout the race after a good start, and won by a length. Maher said, "She was really sharp from the barrier. That was the key to the race. Kerrin McEvoy, super ride again."[6]

Srikandi returned to Victoria after a spell, with two races during the 2015 Spring Carnival. Her best result was a 2nd behind Chautauqua in the Manikato Stakes.

Stress-fractures stopped her from racing in 2016, and in August she was retired to breeding. She finished her career as the highest-earning female out of Dubawi in the world.[7]

References

1. "Srikandi". punters.com.au.
2. Stephen Rodgers (24 May 2014). "G1 Stradboke Handicap target for Srikandi". punters.com.au. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
3. Brendan Cormick (26 May 2014). "Srikandi cops late fee for Stradbroke favourite status". The Australian. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
4. Tom Walter (21 April 2015). "2015 Victory Stakes result – Srikandi's back". racenet.com.au. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
5. "Hard yards pay off for Maher and Srikandi in Stradbroke Handicap". Sydney Morning Herald. 6 June 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
6. Phil Lutton (20 June 2015). "Srikandi gives repeat dose with second group 1 triumph in Tatt's Tiara". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
7. Tom Walter. "Srikandi retired". racenet.