The Championships Day 2 will be held at Royal Randwick on Saturday with another bumper ten race card.
Godolphin champ Anamoe locks horns with European raider and scintillating Ranvet Stakes winner Dubai Honour in what looks a brilliant contest.
The track is rated a Heavy 8 as of Saturday morning after Randwick avoided the worst of a big storm that rolled through Sydney last night.
Meanwhile, Sandown Lakeside hosts Victorian racing on Saturday where the track is rated Soft 6.
Melbourne Cup favourite White Marlin resumes in the Group 3 Easter Cup as the untapped grey presses his claims for a spot on Australia’s great race.
Sandown Lakeside
Race 1 – Party For One ($3.20)
Former New South Wales galloper with Joseph Pride has had a change of stables and is set to make her Victorian debut on Saturday. Party For One has joined the Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr stable and boasts some really strong formlines, often suffering bad luck or finding one better. Her latest run behind Parisal, who subsequently won again, was great and a replication of that will be hard to beat. She has had a trial at Cranbourne to keep her up to the mark for this and will be hard to beat with leading senior rider Jordan Childs engaged.
Race 2 – Kazou ($3.00)
It was an anxious watch for punters who took the shorts about Kazou last start when the Chris Waller-trained filly narrowly fell in at Canterbury. It followed a horrifying watch first-up when slowly away, caught last on the rail and didn’t see clear running room until late to be beaten as an odds-on favourite. Her debut performance was monstrous and a sign of a filly with clear Group potential. She makes her way to Melbourne for Saturday’s 1200m 3YO Fillies race and looks a great bet under Daniel Stackhouse.
Royal Randwick
Race 5 – Aft Cabin ($1.90)
Godolphin gelding was brilliant winning the Group 3 Eskimo Prince first-up and despite running well, didn’t run out the mile in the Randwick Guineas. James Cummings has opted to freshen him up following that run in preparation for this. He tackles the Group 2 Arrowfield Sprint following a strong trial at Randwick and looks primed to strike. Maps perfectly from barrier four and gets James McDonald.
Race 7 – Cleveland ($4.40)
Interested to see what the market does with Cleveland but we are keen to back the European right in. He was great at his first Australian start in the Tancred Stakes. Kerrin McEvoy gave the Joseph O’Brien-trained five-year-old a quiet time midfield and had to overcome a slight check when entering the straight. His work through the line was terrific and already a winner over 3749m, two miles won’t be a query.
