Erkelens targets Group 1 races for filly Machine Gun Gracie

"Special horse” delivers

As strong as Machine Gun Gracie’s start to 2025 has been, one never knows how a horse will step up from one level to the next.

Before Friday’s WA Derby, the filly had only raced in Listed and Group 3 races. However, she was the clear betting sites favourite and lived up to her $1.55 odds.

Machine Gun Gracie won by a clear 1.83 lengths ahead of Grant and Alana Williams Funchal ($5.50). Daniel Morton’s Sail Session ($5.50) finished third, over three lengths behind the winner.

After the race, an exuberant Erkelens said “She’s pulled up good and is just incredible, she doesn’t really realise what she’s doing at the moment.

“She’s a special horse and seems to do everything you ask of her.”

Plans being made

Erkelens also discussed after the race what she has planned for Machine Gun Gracie for the rest of this year and for the 2025/26 horse racing season.

“I would like to prep her and have her run in the Northerly,” Erkelens said, “I would like to win a race in Perth before we go east.”

Which race would Erkelens like to win? She explained that too.

“I would like to win the Northerly Stakes and the Perth Cup,” she revealed.

“She would be good for that, but we’ll let the dust settle and see where we head. She just amazes me how she’s such a big horse, so young and can do everything.

“Nothing seems to faze her which is just weird. How she can run that fast just amazes me.”

“She had the walk”

While Erkelens is amazed by what she’s seen from Machine Gun Gracie so far, she also admitted that she knew the filly would be a good horse early on.

“I went down to Scenic stud to look at some of the yearlings. I’d seen her when she came out and thought straight away, she just had the walk on her,” Erkelens explained.

“She was big as a yearling but looked so put together. I just had to have her, and I bought her at the sales.

“It went from there.”