This Saturday is the Black Caviar Lightning Stakes, the race named to honour our fastest and most famous sprinting mare.
It is a race fittingly named in every sense of the word, particularly over the 1000m Flemington straight course where she made her debut, and eventually broke the record for.
The six-horse field contains three genuine hopes, and three also-rans.
Lankan Rupee is the reigning Australian Horse of the Year, the first horse to win it after Black Caviar’s three-peat.
He slightly underwhelmed in the spring with only one win from four starts, but he did win a Group 1 at weight-for-age, and was beaten about a collective length in his other three runs. Wouldn’t we all love to own such a disappointment.
But, standards are set higher for horses verging on champion status, and he’ll get his chance to keep the knockers at bay here. And it’s worth nothing that while he does have a superb first-up record, Lankan Rupee is yet to resume in a Group 1 as he’ll be doing here.
Deep Field, vying for co-favouritism with Lankan Rupee throughout the week, has never raced at the highest level or at WFA, and has only appeared once at Group level of any sort.
Of course, he comes into the Lightning unbeaten from only five career starts, and he does have exposure up the straight, taking out the Group 2 sprint on Derby Day last year. He was uber-impressive up the straight in a recent jump out, and is a fascinating runner facing his acid test.
The Hawkes camp is as confident as they could be going into a race this hot. Could they believe that they have the best horse in the race?
Another winner on Derby Day last year, the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes for three-year-olds, was Brazen Beau from the Chris Waller yard.
He was supposed to be the stable’s Golden Rose hope coming off an impressive two-year-old campaign in Queensland, as Waller did with Zoustar, but suffered a minor setback and was saved for Group 1 glory in Melbourne instead.
He smashed a supposedly crack group of sprinters in the Coolmore (there was five and a half lengths to fourth, and the likes of Rich Enuff, Earthquake and Scissor Kick could finish no closer than six to eight lengths from him). If he brings his absolute A-game first up, of which Waller is somewhat apprehensive, Brazen Beau can most certainly win.
Also lining up is The Quarterback, who has picked up a couple of wins at benchmark and Listed grade this campaign, Perth horse Waterman’s Bay, found wanting in weaker Melbourne races during the Spring, and Fab Fevola, who may provide nuisance value for Deep Field in the early stages, but will be gasping for air a furlong or two from home.
The race is going to be fast, furious and frenetic. Will the proven, four-time Group 1 winning Lankan Rupee keep the challengers at bay and set himself for another dominant autumn? Will Deep Field catapault himself into the very top echelon of world-class sprinters in this country? Or can the classy three-year-old Brazen Beau cause a minor upset with his weight advantage?
Either way, make sure you’re watching, and make sure you’re early. Be late by a few seconds and you’ll miss half the race!
Selections
1. Lankan Rupee
2. Deep Field
3. Brazen Beau
4. The Quarterback
The Guineas-bound three-year olds are also on display in both states tomorrow, headlined by the Hobartville Stakes at Rosehill.
Resuming in Sydney are several Group 1 winners form the spring – the Caulfield Guineas winner Shooting To Win, Golden Rose winner Hallowed Crown, Champion Stakes winner Hampton Court, and the VRC Derby winner Preferment.
Throw in the likes of Sweynesse (less than two lengths from Adelaide in the Cox Plate), the top class, ever-consistent Scissor Kick, and Coolmore Stud second-place getter Delectation, along with the likes of Panzer Division and Kermadec, and this is going to be one of the hottest form races of the autumn.
The Lightning and the Hobartville are only 20 minutes apart on Saturday. We’re in for a treat.
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