Daffodil was brilliant in winning the 2009 AJC Australian Oaks but was somewhat of an enigma

Daffodil was a bay mare foaled in 2005 and raced from 2000 to 2009. She was bred by Gary Chittick and was sired by No Excuse Needed out of the O'Reilly mare Spring. She was trained by Kevin Gray in Palmerston North. After seeing her run a good race to finish second to Juice in the Gr.3 Gold Trail Stakes, it would have been reasonable to expect Daffodil to develop into a half decent racehorse. But her incredible improvement over 12 months exceeded even the wildest dreams of her owners. Daffodil could be compared to Waikato Studs greatest racehorse, her grandsire O'Reilly - but a few failures along the way blotted her copy book. From there Daffodil won the Gr.1 NZ 1000 Guineas at Riccarton in November of 2008 getting one back over Juice and setting up a serious assault on the Australian 3yo races.

The filly’s performance was so dominant it gave her connections plenty of reasons to forget her unlucky fourth in the New Zealand Oaks a month before. Ridden by Hugh Bowman in the 2009 Gr.1 AJC Oaks (2400m) at Randwick, Daffodil jumped from barrier 11 and travelled wide throughout, a shade worst then midfield. Race leader Purple kept the field going at a genuine tempo, though he did kick up a gear for a short stretch when Zapurple, who had missed the start badly, made a mid race move to look for the lead. Passing the 800m Bowman looked as though he was going to make a move around the field, but instead he stayed in and that decision was probably a winning one. Heading into the turn McEvoy had Purple travelling well, with Gold Water and Miss Lily Rose moving up on the outside. Bowman and Daffodil took cover to the turn and coming out of the bend Bowman held his filly together, waiting for a gap to appear. Runner-up Think Money and favourite Miss Darcey both finished off strongly for second and third respectively, but the winner packed way too many guns. The overall time was 2.33.34 with the last 600m run in 36.58, and Daffodil paid $10.80 with NSWTAB. Bowman stated, “She is such a little filly and she was so relaxed in the run, other runners were just pushing her wherever they liked and I thought what am I going to do here so I kept her balanced and coordinated.”

When Daffodil won the Group One AJC Australian Oaks at Randwick that April, it was the first win by a New Zealand-trained horse in the race since Domino in 1990. The statistic was another example of how tough New Zealand trainers find it to win big races in Australia, but 2009 was a stellar year for NZ-bred horses across the ditch with 18 Group One victories, including nine during the Sydney autumn carnival. Daffodil was one of the undoubted stars of the season. She gave her 72-year-old trainer Kevin Gray his first Australian Group One win, while the triumph was one of number of highlights for her owner-breeders Garry and Mary Chittick. Daffodil won the Group One Windsor Park Plate in the spring before finishing a good fourth in the Caulfield Cup. She was knocked out of contention in the Melbourne Cup.

Daffodil finished her career with a win in an 1100m sprint at New Plymouth and a 3rd in the Gr.1 Fairdale WFA Classic (1600m), going down to the up-and-coming champion sprinter, Mufhasa.

RACE RECORD - 26: 8-4-2

EARNINGS - $1,139,855

Gr.1 One Thousand Guineas

Gr.1 AJC Australian Oaks

Gr.1 Hawke’s Bay Windsor Park Challenge Plate

2009 Champion 3-year-old in New Zealand