Three-year-old season
Returning as a three-year-old, Katie Lee finished third in the Gold Trail Stakes at Hastings before a spectacular win in the James & Annie Sarten Memorial Stakes at Te Rapa, an increasingly important lead-up race to the 1000 and 2000 Guineas at Riccarton Park.
In the 2000 Guineas on 7 November, Katie Lee overcame considerable traffic problems to defeat Military Move and Clapton in the $1,000,000 Group one (G1) event. After the race, co-trainer Graeme Rogerson stated that provided the filly came through the race well, the intention was to back up in the 1000 Guineas seven days later.
Sent out as a $1.70 favourite in the 1000 Guineas, Katie Lee again encountered traffic problems in the race before producing yet another outstanding finishing sprint. Runner-up Keep The Peace, a stablemate of 2000 Guineas second placegetter Military Move, provided stiff resistance, but Katie Lee stuck her head out at the finish line to win by the margin of half a neck. Her historic double was made more notable when the runners-up in each of the races went on to win the New Zealand Derby and New Zealand Oaks respectively.
Katie Lee followed her Guineas victories with a second at Group 3 level, before a Group 2 win in the Eight Carat Classic at Ellerslie on Boxing Day and a second in the Group 2 Royal Stakes at the same venue on New Year's Day. She then ran third in the Desert Gold Stakes at Trentham before winning the Group 2 Sir Tristram Fillies Classic at Te Rapa.
Katie Lee's connections attempted to make further history in seeking a rare victory for a filly in the New Zealand Derby, but a mixture of a tough and long campaign and the 2,400 metres of the Derby meant she was unable to perform as expected, finishing 14th.