Here’s an early look at Saturday’s feature racing at Randwick. There are two Group 1s, the Royal Randwick Guineas and Canterbury Stakes, as well as the 1000m Group 2 Challenge Stakes for the top-class speed machines.
Royal Randwick Guineas – 1600m, Group 1, three-year-olds, set weights
There are currently 20 horses left on the entry list for Saturday’s big race and there’s a very talented group of three-year-olds engaged. With so much class in the field, it is going to be a fascinating race.
Dissident will be out to make it back-to-back wins after coming off an impressive victory in the Hobartville Stakes which is generally a good form guide for this race.
Atlante, Savvy Nature and Woodbine who were second, third and fourth in the Hobartville, have also been nominated, so we should be in for a treat.
Of the other runners, Criterion looks as though he is primed for this after finishing off well to grab second in Shamus Award’s Australian Guineas – a Flemington race with the same conditions as the Randwick Guineas.
Eurozone (fourth) and Teronado (fifth) also come through the Australian Guineas and have also been nominated for this race.
In the case of Eurozone, he brings weight-for-age form to the Randwick Guineas. His first-up run, when he almost ran down Moment Of Change in the Orr, was very impressive.
Bull Point, who was fourth to Moment Of Change in the Futurity at weight-for-age, has Damien Oliver booked for his debut Guineas assignment.
The New Zealander El Roca is yet to prove he is good enough over the mile but a win in this race would push this colt’s value up tremendously. El Roca is backing up after a narrow defeat against the older horses in the Liverpool City Cup last weekend.
Koroibete was very quiet first up but tends to need a run fresh. He has the talent to be competitive in this race and will appreciate the extra distance. A career-best showing would not surprise.
Canterbury Stakes – 1300m, Group 1, weight-for-age
The Canterbury Stakes is always a very competitive race because the winner is exempt from ballot for the Group 1 George Ryder Stakes, which this year is being run on Rosehill Guineas day in three Saturdays.
What a race we have here!
There are ten runners on the entry list and one could argue that each of them is a winning chance. There are six Group 1 winners in this group of sprinter-milers, with an impressive total of 13 Group 1 wins between them!
Of all of the runners, Zoustar is probably the one that has most excited. He is a superstar in the making but this will be his toughest test to date. Zoustar, a three-year-old, faces older horses and weight-for-age racing for the first time.
Zoustar’s trainer, Chris Waller, stated he has a slight concern over the fitness of Zoustar. Waller also said the Canterbury will be a great ‘warm up’ for Royal Ascot in June which, along with the $2.5m TJ Smith on April 12 at Randwick, is the target race for Zoustar this campaign.
Guy Walter has three runners in this year’s Canterbury. Appearance will be the most fancied of the three after winning her last two starts in impressive fashion.
Stablemates Streama and Toydini were not as impressive first-up but they both tend to need a run before showing something near their best second-up, and the extra distance should suit them both.
Historically, the Apollo Stakes is a good guide for this race so Appearance, who bolted in, and Speediness, who was second, are the ones to watch from that race.
Of course, Saturday’s impressive Chipping Norton winner, Boban, was fourth in the Apollo.
Top mare Red Tracer and three-year-old Not Listenin’tome are another two of the runners that were in cracking form first-up, winning easily. They can’t be ignored.
So even with the small field of ten, this race will prove to be another hard one to pick. Will Zoustar pick up where he left off last campaign? Or will one of the more race seasoned gallopers take the money?
Challenge Stakes – 1000m, Group 2, weight-for-age
This race should see the return of arguably the country’s best sprinter, Buffering. In Buffering’s absence, Lankan Rupee has been setting the Australian sprinting scene alight and has many racing fans wondering who is better – Buffering or Lankan Rupee?
According to trainer Robert Heathcote, Buffering is as good as ever and will be very competitive on Saturday.
Another runner in this race that will have plenty of support is Snitzerland. Last start, Snitzerland won the Black Caviar Lightning Stakes over the same distance and at Group 1 level impressively.
Trainer Gerald Ryan stated that he couldn’t hold back Snitzerland any longer as the four-year-old mare wants to race.
Ryan isn’t sure whether Snitzerland will be extended to 1200m for the TJ Smith Stakes. If Snitzerland does go that way, it should pave the way for a rematch with Lankan Rupee, who beat Snitzerland by a nose on Oaks Day at Flemington.
Snitzerland and Lankan Rupee have clean-swept each of the three sprint Group 1s to have been run in Australia this year.
In the Challenge, Snitzerland gets an opportunity to boost the look of the Lightning form, after Lankan Rupee’s Oakleigh Plate numbers proved dominant in last weekend’s Newmarket Handicap. In an anomaly, the Oakleigh Plate trifecta was the same trifecta as the Newmarket.
Tiger Tees is another runner of interest in the Challenge after winning narrowly in Brisbane last start. Trainer Joseph Pride said any give in the ground would be of assistance on Saturday and one feels if the track dries out too much then Tiger Tees may not line-up in the Challenge.
Although many of us are anticipating the battle between Buffering and Lankan Rupee (which will hopefully happen on April 12 in the TJ Smith Stakes), I can’t wait for Buffering’s race with Snitzerland on Saturday.
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