Despite Silent Mission‘s 19-1 upset win in the $1.09-million RonRon Trophy, trainer Jason DaCosta said that he never ruled out the chances of his bay filly in the six-furlong (1,200m) contest.

“She [Silent Mission] just won last week, and we ran her back fairly quickly as she is fit right now and feeling good. She ran well and got the job done again,” DaCosta said.

“I saw that the pace was running fast, and so I knew the run-on horses had a good chance as well. It was a pretty good time for the event as well. Silent Mission always had the potential, but has been pretty unfortunate. She is coming on well,” he added.

Bred by Savoy Stomp out of Lady Mandi, Silent Mission came from well off the pace to win the native-bred three year old and four year old (non-winners of four) and imported three-year-old ad upwards (non-winners of three) contest by a length and a quarter.

Silent Mission, ridden by Javaniel Patterson, was nowhere to be found at the off and she raced among the backmarkers as Luksol (Jerome Innis), Buzz City Light (Anthony Thomas) and Josh (Omar Walker) dictated the early part of the race.

Even when stablemate Luksol upped the tempo navigating the half-mile turn, Silent Mission was still not in view and looked hopeless at that time. With the leaders failing to carry on in deep stretch, an opening was created for the run-on horses to get into contention.

Silent Mission, who hugged the inside rails, cutting the turn coming into the lane, and produced a strong run and got up in time for the win. Stablemate Tekapunt (Chris Mamdeen) also came on late to get second place, with Rubyistheone (Tevin Foster) finishing in third spot. The final time was 1:13.1.

— Ruddy Allen