Lindsay Park collected their fourth win in the past eight runnings of the Furphy Trophy when Bold Bastille took out the Listed race at Flemington.
The Ben, Will and J D Hayes-trained filly led throughout to claim the 1000m dash, backing up the form she showed when successful at Moonee Valley on Cox Plate Day last year.
Sent out the $2.10 betting site favourite under Mark Zahra, Bold Bastille scored a three-quarter length win from Drifting ($3.30) with Grinzinger Love ($15) a further 2-¼ lengths away third.
Ben Hayes said missing last week’s Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield was a blessing after the filly missed an important lead-up race to that potential engagement.
Bold Bastille suffered a set-back early in the year before starting her campaign which forced her to miss a first-up run at Caulfield in late January.
Hayes said a start in the Blue Diamond had been close, but they came to the realisation they were playing catch-up with the filly.
“I think in hindsight it was a great decision because the way the race (Blue Diamond) was run, they went really hard, and she would have been torched,” Hayes said.
“The 1200 metres would have been a question mark, and it was so inviting to come back to the 1000 metres today.
“The straight was always a question mark, but she was so professional today.”
Hayes said a step up to 1200m in the future will not pose a problem for the filly and he said there was many options for the filly.
“We had the set-back,” Hayes said.
“We missed a run over 1000 metres and had to go to 1100 metres first-up and the way she knocked up, she wasn’t ready for it and with her racing style, you need to be fit.
“There are races like the 1200 (metres) down the straight called the Breeders’ in two weeks, there’s a Redoute’s Choice.
“They’re all options we can look at with her but first we’ll see how she pulls up and we’ll come up with a plan, but it’s good to get some nice black type.”