Saturday brings us Golden Slipper day, and while the $3.5M scamper for juveniles will capture most attention, there are some other important Group 1s on the day.

Tomorrow will see our extended Slipper preview, but today we’re looking at the BMW and Vinery Stud Stakes.

The BMW is worth $1.5M in its own right, even after a significant drop in prizemoney for 2014, and despite the weight-for-age nature of the event and proven formlines coming in, it can still throw up a surprise result.

Let’s have a look at Saturday’s field.

BMW Stakes

1.Fiorente

Fiorente leads the market for the BMW, but is coming off what was by far the most disappointing run of his Australian career in the Ranvet. While there was much debate as to whether the horse or jockey (Damien Oliver) were to blame for his seventh placed finish as favourite, both had to wear blame.

If he’s able to put that run behind him, 2400m at weight-for-age appeals as the perfect distance for him, even if he’s never tackled the distance in this country and had only one win from six starts at the trip in his European days.

Barrier one may be a hindrance more than a help with competitors easier positioned to keep Oliver boxed in.

2.Green Moon

Green Moon has returned in excellent order this campaign after disappointing in the spring.

There has always been a question mark over whether he could graduate to genuine weight-for-age class, with his two Group 1 wins being in a handicap and a set-weights-penalties race, both in the spring of 2012.

We’ve seen him twice this year, in the Peter Young at Caulfield, and Australian Cup at Flemington, ridden forward on each occasion, and being beaten less than a length by Fiorente by both times. The step up in distance will suit him at least as much as any other, and he must be considered a genuine threat.

3.Foreteller

If Fiorente was the most disappointing runner to come out of the Ranvet, Foreteller wasn’t too far behind, being beaten 6.5 lengths and failing to make any impression in the straight for one of the few times in his career.

Prior to that he’d been ticking over nicely, finishing right on the heels of Green Moon in the two races mentioned above, and let’s not forget he did get beaten just over a length in the Cox Plate last year.

He strikes most as a 2000m horse, so may be feeling the pinch in the last couple of furlongs, but he deserves his chance to show if he can run it strongly. A sobering note is that he’s met Fiorente five times and is yet to finish in front of him.

4.Mourayan

The grand old war-horse of the Lloyd Williams stable is racing in great heart this campaign, yet another to have run competitively with Fiorente in the Peter Young and Australian Cup. He almost stole the former, and was an extremely strange run in the latter, fading badly as they straightened before hitting the line as well as anything.

It’s easy to make the case that he goes better the Sydney way of going, and he did run second in the 2011 BMW at 40-1, so is well capable of sneaking under the radar. He really has been a marvellous horse to sustain such a career over a long period, and has been placed five times at Group 1 level going all the way back to 2009.

5.Sertorius

Sertorius has graduated to weight-for-age racing this prep, and hasn’t lost any admirers in doing so.

He’d probably be a Group 1 winner if the Futurity Stakes was over 50m further, tearing up the ground behind Moment of Change first up, and then ran a funny, but respectable race in the Blamey after missing the start.

Last time out in the Ranvet, he ran evenly, finishing in front of Fiorente and Foreteller, but never threatening Silent Achiever and It’s A Dundeel in first and third respectively. His two best runs in the spring were his two emphatic wins over 2400m, a distance he’s unbeaten at, so he’ll appreciate getting back to that distance.

6.Brigantin

Brigantin has been racing in Australia for a year and a half, but is yet to have a breakthrough victory in this country. His last win came in May 2011 in France, beating Dunaden at weight-for-age over 3100m.

He has run some nice races since being transferred from Pat Carey to Chris Waller, and found the line pleasingly over 1900m in the Sky High first-up. It’s a big ask to step up from not winning Listed and Group 3 events to taking out a BMW though.

7.Angola

While not training Brigantin anymore, Pat Carey will still have a runner in the race though, in the form of Angola.

Coming off a Benchmark 90 win, and never having even raced beyond Listed level, the punters won’t exactly be coming out of the trees to back him. His best chance might be that there have been some big-odds Victoria-based winners in recent years – think of Cedarberg, Littorio and Blutigeroo.

8.It’s a Dundeel

The gloss is slowly wearing off It’s a Dundeel, and those hoping he would be an undisputed superstar of the turf may be finding themselves a little disappointed. Since bolting in the AJC Derby, the fourth Group 1 win of his three-year-old year, he has only one win from six starts.

That win was the Underwood Stakes over Atlantic Jewel, and he has been placed at Group 1 level three other times besides, so he is a very good horse, but three of his losses have been when starting odds-on or under $3, so people have expected more.

He ran a nice third in the Ranvet last start, but has to find a couple of lengths to turn the tables on Silent Achiever. The last time he saw 2400m was his six length Derby win, and he might be looking for that distance now.

9.Silent Achiever

Silent Achiever may have been a surprise winner of the key form race leading into the BMW, but she was far from an unworthy one.

A dual Group 1 winner in New Zealand, and now a Group 1 winner in Australia after multiple placings at the level (including this event behind Fiveandahalfstar last year), her quality is now beyond dispute.

The little question mark is that the Ranvet was an on-pace dominated race, and it was largely an on-pace dominated day. Did she just get the right run on the right day? If you think her win was a true reflection of where she sits, you’re getting another good price for Saturday.

10.Voleuse de Couers

There have been whispers about how good Voleuse de Couers might be ever since she landed in Australia not long before last year’s Melbourne Cup.

She probably got too far back on that day to read too much into her capabilities, but resumed in the Australian Cup a month back. Even though first-up over 2000m, she was already looking like she wanted further, and the question is whether another 400m is going to be enough.

Four of her five wins in Ireland, including the Group 1 St Leger, were over 2800m or further. The Australian Cup was also her first run at weight-for-age, and she’ll be better for another experience.

11.Let’s Make Adeal

Let’s Make Adeal has shown that she’s got the makings of a nice stayer over the course of her career, running competitively as she rises through the grades, despite her best win being a 0-84 mid-weeker at Sandown.

Still only a four year old mare, Group 1 weight-for-age is beyond her at this stage, but if she matures again over winter, connections are entitled to look at the big spring handicaps.

There are several horses in the race who could take up the running, and many who will be looking to box seat. As usual in these races, the winning jockey will earn his paycheck, needing a mixture of tactical guile, patience, and enough horse under him to be the first past the post.

Selections: 1.Silent Achiever 2.Fiorente 3.It’s a Dundeel 4.Mourayan

Vinery Stud stakes

The 2014 edition of the Vinery Stud Stakes, a $400,000 race over 2000m for three-year-old fillies has attracted a capacity field.

Making it extra special is the fact that the best of Sydney, Melbourne and New Zealand collide to the extent that early markets had three co-favourites, each one a representative of these regions.

Solicit made the early running in the Victorian fillies races, trouncing her rivals in two Group races over 1400m before finding bad luck last start as odds-on favourite over a mile at Moonee Valley. She was also probably looking for further, and as a Crown Oaks placegetter, she’ll relish the step up to 2000m.

Zanbagh finished just ahead of her in what was a remarkable Oaks, and returned to winning form last start in the Keith Nolan at Kembla Grange after putting the writing on the board in the Surround Stakes. As comfortable racing handy as settling back, her versatility is an obvious offset to the widest barrier.

Rising Romance has been running well in all the three-year-old staying races in New Zealand, and makes the trip across the Tasman for the first time to compete on Australian soil.

The best line on her should have been through Puccini, which beat her twice before running in the Rosehill Guineas last week, but that colt was beaten twelve lengths there after a controversial ride that fired up the horse and gave it no chance.

If Puccini’s $4.20 quote was an accurate reflection of where his ability sits, then Rising Romance is deservedly in the market back against her own sex.

Lucia Valentina also brought the New Zealand form with her, which stood up in the Surround Stakes with her closing third. She was never going to be up to the task in the Coolmore second-up, but was hardly disgraced. She’ll need to have closed the gap on Rising Romance from their Kiwi days.

Miss Mossman in the third filly from New Zealand in the race, and was a last-start Oaks winner in her home country, thus bringing a different formline to the other two. She bolted in by 3.5 lengths that day, so is obviously a serious talent.

Marianne took the scalp of Solicit last start, and if we say bad luck cost the latter a length or more in the two length defeat, the 3kg weight swing away from Marianne is going to be hard to make up. She looks like a horse that will appreciate more ground though, and winning form is good form.

Suavito has been chasing the aforementioned fillies in those stakes races down south, and certainly hasn’t been out of place in doing so. She gets weight relief from being beaten the barest margin behind Marianne last start, but has barrier 17 to contend with. She’ll be finishing as strong as any, but may be too far back to be a winning chance.

It’s no easy task to come from last at Kembla Grange to claim victory, but Interspersed almost did it when chasing Zanbagh last start. One of the most lightly raced horses in the field, with a Canberra Guineas win among her five starts, she’s open to the most improvement, meets Zanbagh a kilo better, and will be charging late.

Define and All Cerise come from Guelph’s last race, the Phar Lap, where both ran well behind Traitor. Amanpour and Missvonn (if she gets a run) are others from the Keith Nolan, and should run well at odds, but may be looking for an Oaks trip.

The others look to be making up the numbers, but there aren’t many you wouldn’t consider a top six chance.

Selections: 1.Solicit 2.Interspersed 3.Rising Romance 4.Marianne

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for our horse-by-horse Golden Slipper preview!