Opinion

Expert analyst for Sky Racing and presenter for the Nine Network October 23, 2026 — 5:00am

October 23, 2026 — 5:00am

Trainer David Payne is not one to mince words; he openly calls his undefeated filly Proxima Dea ugly. But she might just be the ugliest beautiful horse in Australasia right now.

After she defied 33 years of history to lift herself off the canvas to capture the group 3 Gloaming Stakes last start, punters don’t care what she looks like. Nor does Payne.

Proxima Dea (left) surges late to win the Gloaming Stakes in a blanket finish under Zac Lloyd. Getty Images

What matters is her freakish will to win and a motor that’s custom built for Saturday’s $2 million group 1 Spring Champion Stakes at Royal Randwick.

The standard racing playbook says fillies don’t win the Gloaming. Proxima Dea was the first to do so since Constant Flight in 1993. Fillies certainly aren’t supposed to look beaten at the 150-metre mark and then still find a way to burst through.…