The Golden Rose is the richest race on Sydney’s Spring racing calender with prize money of $1 million this race attracts the top three year olds from around the country.
Last year’s edition was won by Zoustar and this year there is 15 acceptances and they make up what looks like a cracking field of raw talent.
The barrier draw was held on Tuesday morning and it saw the early market favorite Hallowed Crown drift a little in the betting after receiving barrier 14 which has historically only produced three winners in this race from the 1400m mark at Rosehill Gardens. With these factors against him, this young colt from the Cummings stable will have to produce his best run to date but it would be a brave punter to write him off, as he is unbeaten from three starts and looks to have a heap of talent.
It was a different story for Peter Moody’s young filly, Bring Me The Maid who drew perfectly in barrier six, she has since been consistently backed in by the punters and is now the clear favorite and it would be no surprise to see her get even shorter come race day especially if we get another wet track. The track is currently rated a Heavy 8 and more rain is expected tomorrow with the rest of the week to remain dry so we may be looking at a slow to dead track come race day if the forecast is correct.
One trainer that will be hoping the track dries is Sydney superstar Gai Waterhouse. Her sole entry is a talented gelding called Almalad who was unbeaten until last start where he seemed to struggle on a heavy track in the Run To The Rose, an improved showing is expected here if the track improves and if he can produce the form that saw him win the Group One J.J Atkins a couple of months back in Brisbane then he could prove hard to beat. He has drawn well in barrier five and drops 3.5 kilograms from last starts disappointing run which has reportedly got jockey Tommy Berry pretty confident.
Another looking for a dry surface will be Nostradamus out of the Hawkes stable, he seemed to struggle with the conditions last start in the Run To The Rose, his form prior to that run looked good and a return to a dry track would bring him right into this race, it will be interesting to see if he can run out the 1400 metres as he has not been pushed out past 1200m yet. Drawing barrier three will help his cause as he should be able to get into a good position behind the leaders.
Another runner that is in the market is Peter Moody’s second runner, Better Land. He has looked capable in his short, three start career, drawing barrier ten wont be ideal but he will have the talented Blake Shinn on-board and will be looking for a smoother run after being hampered in the final 100 metres last start which caused a protest to be lodged and was upheld.
Of the other runners I like the look of there is John O’Shea’s runner Sarajevo and Paul Messara’s Scissor Kick. Sarajevo will be looking for a dry track while Scissor Kick who has won his last three starts seems to handle any surface. They will both most likely go back in the field and make late runs and it appears that there will be enough speed up front to bring these two right into this race.
All in all this looks like a great race and lets hope Sydney’s weather will be a little kinder this week, in a tough one I have Almalad on top of Hallowed Crown, Sarajevo and Bring Me The Maid.
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