Group 2 $250,000 SANDOWN GUINEAS. (1600m):
WE may be at the back-end of the Spring Carnival yet tomorrow’s Sandown Guineas hasn’t thrown up any off-season surprises.
Our power stables – Weir, Team Hayes, McEvoy and Price – have the runners that appear likely to fight out this traditional Group 2 contest.
Darren Weir has had a marvellous Carnival and his ‘new kid on the block’ – RINGERDINGDING – is shaping as the horse to beat.
It was only four starts ago when this three-year-old son of Sebring won a Benchmark 64 at Bendigo in mid-October.
The RINGERDINGDING we will see at Sandown will be a whole different horse to the one that turned up at Bendigo that day.
He suggested something special was close when an eye-catching third in the Red Anchor Stakes at Moonee Valley on Cox Plate day.
He was wide no cover that day, when it was an obvious advantage to be near the rail.
Not surprisingly he went to Flemington and on the final day of that carnival – last Saturday – he put up an amazing performance to win the Listed Hilton Stakes, after being held-up and well back turning for home.
Weir, who openly says he loves to back his horses up from one week to another, has had no hesitation in doing just that with RINGERDINGDING.
TABCORP has installed him a $3.10 favourite ahead of Mick Price’s talented filly, SEABROOK, who is listed at $3.70.
The only filly in this Guineas, SEABROOK is a Group 1 winner at the trip last season (Champagne Stakes in Sydney), and Mick Price has declared her best trip is at a mile.
Her form is outstanding having run third to Amphitrite in the Group 1 Thousand Guineas (1600m) before a solid and close sixth in the Group 1 Empire Rose (1600m).
Now she is back to her own age group, again at a mile, and she gets Hall Of Fame jockey Damien Oliver.
Tony McEvoy has a strong hand with two genuine winning chances – SCOTTISH ROGUE and SECRET BLAZE.
Both are coming off creditable placings in different races during Cup week at Flemington.
SCOTTISH ROGUE ($8.50) was very brave when second to RINGERDINGDING in the Hilton Stakes last Saturday, while SECRET BLAZE ($7.00) ran on hard when third in the Carbine Club Stakes on the first day, behind Ranier.
Team Hayes has LONG LEAF ($8.50) and GOOD ‘N’ FAST ($12) engaged and both horses are racing well enough to stake claims and both like big spacious tracks, which they will get at Sandown tomorrow on the Hillside course.
This should be a really good contest between many evenly matched three-year-olds, but for mine the emerging RINGERDINGDING has more upside and will appreciate getting out to the 1600-metres.
I’ll be on him!
Group 2 $300,000 ZIPPING CLASSIC. (2400m).
EVERY year leviathan owner Lloyd Williams wants to win the race named in honour of his all-time favourite racehorse – Zipping.
After the brave old warrior won the then Sandown Classic on four consecutive occasions, the Melbourne Racing Club saw fit to rename the race in his honour.
Williams does his best to have multiple runners in the race and again he has achieved that with $4 favourite THE TAJ MAHAL, and $10 chance SIR ISAAC NEWTON.
THE TAJ MAHAL is the defending champion having led throughout to record an easy win in the race last year, beating stablemate and former Melbourne Cup winner Almandin.
Trainer Liam Howley has taken a different path into the Classic this year compared to 12 months ago.
Last year THE TAJ MAHAL came through the Caulfield Stakes and the Mackinnon Stakes before winning at Sandown.
This year he ran a creditable fifth in the Caulfield Cup before running down the track in the Moonee Valley Gold Cup on Cox Plate day, when a well-backed favourite.
The three-week break between runs would appear to be a bonus for this bold front-runner as too would the apparent lack of go-forward horses in this race.
Only eight horses will line-up but between them we have good depth.
UK import DAL HARRAILD ($5.00), now with Ciaron Mahar and David Eustace, would appear to be a serious winning chance.
His only run in Australia was in the Group 3 $350,000 Bendigo Cup, when he did it hard and tough on the speed and was very brave at the finish when narrowly beaten by outsider Red Alto.
Throw in the fact he draws well in barrier four for Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Kerrin McEvoy and he looks tough to beat for mine.
The other serious winning chance is Graeme Begg’s OUR LIBRETTO ($5.00), who is backing-up from Flemington last Saturday when an unlucky seventh in the Group 2 Matriarch Stakes.
OUR LIBRETTO was held-up over the concluding stages and appeared to have more to give for rider Jordan Childs.
Damian Lane will take the ride on OUR LIBRETTO tomorrow and she gets the added luxury of drawing barrier one.
On paper it would appear every runner in the race could win, including veteran top-weight WHO SHOT THEBARMAN ($12), the outsider of the field.
Moonee Valley Cup winner VENTURA STORM ($6.00), LIBRAN ($6.50) and LORD FANDANGO ($5.00) are all racing well and with the right run are capable of winning.
It might be a small field but punters don’t mind that if the race is competitive, and this renewal of the Zipping Classic is most definitely an even contest.
I’ll be having something on DAL HARRAILD and OUR LIBRETTO.
Good luck!
