It’s hard to believe 11 years have passed since Choisir’s bold Lightning Stakes win, when Glen Boss steered a solo path on the flat side of the famous Flemington straight.
As Australia’s only 1000m Group 1, the now-named Black Caviar Lightning Stakes have always delivered a quality field and provided a pathway to overseas riches.
Along with Choisir, Takeover Target, Miss Andretti, Scenic Blast and Black Caviar tasted victory in the race before taking out feature sprints at Royal Ascot.
However, the birth of The Championships and the rise of the TJ Smith Stakes threw the VRC a curve ball.
No longer will the best sprinters purely target Melbourne and you can hardly blame the owners and trainers, given the enormous $2.5 million purse of the Sydney sprint.
The year’s field is unarguably down on quality, however it is high on intrigue and interest, thanks considerably to the inclusion of the two-year-old’s Boomwaa and Bugatty.
It’s hard to believe decades have passed since a two-year-old contested the Lightning and this year we have two.
While Boomwa trainer Robbie Laing is prone to throwing a horse in the deep end, Bugatty’s trainers, the Hawkes, are more measured and cautious, raising the eyebrows of many form students and sectional experts.
While they don’t have the boom (pardon the pun) of Rubick or Earthquake, they showed enough to warrant a start in the field, particularly with the postage stamp weight of 46kgs and weakened field.
With the likes of Zoustar and Buffering at home, it leaves Samaready and Shamexpress as the only Group 1-winning sprinters in the field and provides the trainers with the perfect opportunity to test their youngsters against more seasoned rivals.
Choisir was a pioneer for Australian sprinters by winning two races at Royal Ascot and Boomwaa and Bugatty may become pioneers for future two-year-old’s should they run well on Saturday.
If successful, it could be only a matter of months before we see a Golden Slipper winner in the TJ Smith Stakes.
And while I only give both horses a place chance at best, I know one thing is certain: steer clear of hoops Dean Yendall and Dean Holland at the buffet on Saturday night!
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