By any statistical measure, Verry Elleegant was a champion of the Australasian turf, but it was her incredible versatility at the elite level which puts her among the genuine greats.
Her untimely passing this week in Ireland, while foaling for the first time, was met with widespread shock and sadness across the thoroughbred world, but also gives a chance to reflect on the extraordinary things she achieved on the track.
She won Group 1 races at ages three, four, five and six from distances of 1400m up to 3200m, 11 in total, under a range of conditions.
Two of those Group 1s were against her own sex, six were under weight-for-age conditions against the boys, one under set weights and penalties conditions and two in Australia’s greatest handicaps, the Caulfield Cup and the Melbourne Cup.
This post is for our free members
Thanks for your interest in The Straight. It looks like you are trying to access a free members article via an in-app browser on X, Facebook or LinkedIn. For the best experience, and instant access, sign on via the Social Sign In links below. You should only need to do this once.
If you wish to access or create an email-based account, please provide your email below. You will receive a link to click by email which will then open in your device’s native browser.
