Classy mare Sunshine In Paris gained a deserved third group 1 success May 17 when toughing it out to deny the returning Rothfire in a thrilling edition of the Doomben Ten Thousand (G1) at Doomben Racecourse in Queensland.
Having taken on the best sprinters in the land in her three previous starts this campaign, with a best-placed finish coming when a last-start third in the All Aged Stakes (G1), the Annabel and Rob Archibald-trained 5-year-old was sent off the AU$3.30 favorite for Saturday's 1,200-meter (about six-furlong) contest under James McDonald.
Coming wide rounding the home bend, "J-Mac" galvanized his mount down the home straight and the pair maintained a continuous run inside the final 200 meters to grab Rothfire on the line and score by a head.
There was a further neck back to Payline in third place, and Rob Archibald praised his mare's toughness on the track following the victory.
"I was getting pretty excited," Archibald said moments after the win. "I'm just so pleased for the mare, she's been great all prep. She just hasn't had a good draw, so I'm really pleased it worked out well.
"Thanks to her owners for being brave enough and supportive enough to run her on a track which probably isn't to her liking. Annabel would have been cheering very loudly back home, she loves this mare as does everyone involved with her.
"James came and galloped her a couple of weeks ago and said she's spot on, which gave us all the confidence we needed. We were still a bit worried about the ground, but we didn't need to in the end because it all worked out very well. Rothfire was very brave and he's a very good horse in his own right. So it was a real fight over the last 50 meters, and I'm just so pleased she managed to get her head in front."
McDonald, who was adding a 117th elite-level victory to his CV but winning the Doomben for the first time, was full of praise for the daughter of Invader.
"She thoroughly deserved this win," the winning rider said. "She's been competing against the best horses all the way through the autumn.
"She was very tough and it's great to get a big result for the Archibald team. They've done an extremely good job with this mare. Rothfire was as tough as they come. I was worried at the furlong that we weren't going to get to him, but he probably had a tougher run than we did and my mare kept on surging. He gave us one hell of a fright.
Sunshine In Paris originally sold to Champagne Bloodstock out of the Blue Sky Premium Consignment for AU$90,000 as an unraced 2-year-old at the 2022 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.
Following her win in the 2023 Surround Stakes (G1), Sunshine In Paris then made AU$3.9 million at the same sale the following year, selling to James Harron Bloodstock, who was acting on behalf of John Camilleri's Fairway Thoroughbreds—in whose colors she now races. A few months later, she repaid her new connections when adding a second group 1 to her record in the 2024 Champions Sprint (G1) at Flemington, with McDonald on board. Saturday's win was the jockey and horse's first reunion since.
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