The George Main Stakes is one of the lesser Sydney Group 1s across the season, despite being at weight-for-age over the classic Randwick mile.
The race is often run and won somewhat anonymously, but that isn’t going to be the case this time with the superstar Winx as the key runner.
Winx resumed in the Warwick Stakes a month ago, putting paid to her rivals in breathtaking fashion, and was supposed to be second up in the Chelmsford Stakes a fortnight ago but missed the run due to a heavy track.
She instead showed up in a trial last week, which she performed handsomely in, and only the skinniest of odds will be bet about her here. We know how good she is, and we know what we’ll be expecting at 3.15pm on Saturday.
Tosen Stardom and Hauraki are vying for second favouritism, albeit both are at double figure odds.
The ex-Japanese Tosen Stardom has been the source of plenty of racetrack whispers ever since he joined the Weir stable, and showed us a glimpse of his talent first-up in the Dato Tan Chin Nam when he had no luck but rocketed home. The question is whether his finishing burst was a little flattering given he was held up before gaining clear running, and thus was entitled to finish as he did.
Hauraki didn’t win a race as four year old, albeit finding his way into the placings six times in WFA events, but is one from one at five after taking out the Tramway when resuming, and might be ready to elevate himself into that group of horses chasing Winx in Australia’s best races.
Le Romain ran second behind Hauraki in the Tramway, meets him 1.5kg’s better at the weights, and gets up to a more suitable distance range now, remembering that he won the Randwick Guineas at this track and distance. It’s Somewhat ran evenly in the Tramway and will do so again.
Great Esteem is up from Victoria after leading all the way to win the Heatherlie, beating the highly rated Tom Melbourne. He’s hard and fit, and has carried weight to win in vastly inferior grade. He’ll lead them all along and may stick on to land somewhere in the first four.
Vanbrugh won the Spring Champion last spring but hasn’t threatened the winning post since, and won’t be doing so here. Spiritjim is first-up at 200-1 for Chris Waller, but should be fit enough off the back of three trials. He might be worth a place ticket as the despised outsider.
Selections: 1.Winx 2.Le Romain 3.Tosen Stardom 4.Hauraki
Around the traps: Down at Caulfield, Tom Melbourne can be winning the Naturalism with Jameka the only danger. They both love the wet, and from barriers one and two, they’ll jump together, run together and probably cross the line together. It looks a great quinella bet.
Back at Randwick, Hartnell versus Preferment in the Hill Stakes will be worth watching, and I’ll take $7.50 on the 2016 Australian Cup and BMW winner instead of the $1.40 on 2016 Chelmsford Stakes winner.
English might be a legitimate challenger to Chautauqua in the spring sprints when they meet, and will be heavily backed to win The Shorts.
Rose’s Roughie: We’re going to see plenty of form reversals in Sydney in the coming weeks, both good and bad as their tracks go from wet to dry. Every runner in the Tea Rose Stakes at Randwick is coming off a slow or heavy track run, and we can find some value if they hit good ground on Saturday.
Not a single horse in the Tea Rose field has a black type win on a dry track, yet Quick Feet has a couple of Group 2 placings and a respectable Golden Slipper run on firm ground. The last time she saw the good, she finished off better than any except Omei Sword, and we know how good that filly is.
Quick Feet is too good to pass up at $21 against a field of moderately performed talent at this stage of their careers.
Without a Fight completed the rare Caulfield Cup-Melbourne Cup double on Tuesday as star jockey Mark Zahra went back-to-back in the big one after…
The race that stops the nation is upon us again. Every horse in the Melbourne Cup has reasons they can win, and reasons they…
Those who want to have a really big collect on Australia’s greatest race, without risking too much, have to look at the exotic bets.
While most of the attention is on Ciaron Maher and David Eustace's Gold Trip, there's no reason why stablemate Future History cannot upstage him.
Champion jockey Damien Oliver is quietly confident his Melbourne Cup mount Alenquer will be passed fit to give him a farewell ride in the…
Melbourne Cup day is here again, and it’s never anything less than exciting. The Cup itself will of course be full of drama and…
