Chris Waller’s Group 1 Tattersall’s Tiara-bound mare Catkins has opened clear favourite to win her lead-up race in the 2014 Dane Ripper Stakes at Eagle Farm this weekend.
Catkins is short favourite to win Saturday's Dane Ripper Stakes 2014 in Brisbane. Photo: Steve Hart.
The four-year-old grey daughter of Dubawi has a 50% strike rate having won 11 of her 22 starts to date, the Sydney visitor looking to make it a dozen when she takes her spot in Saturday’s $200,000 Group 2 Dane Ripper Stakes (1400m) field.
She’s drawn double digits with barrier 11 of 14, Hugh Bowman to ride, but is still topping the Dane Ripper Stakes odds at $3.30.
Waller is eyeing a run in the $500,000 Group 1 Tattersall’s Tiara (1400m) back at the track on June 21 for both Catkins and his reigning champ Red Tracer who is a $10 chance to win the $1.36 million Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap over the same distance on Saturday.
Both mares come through a run in the Group 1 Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m) at Randwick from April 19, Catkins tipped to improve on her sixth behind Diamond Drille there when she drops back in class and distance for the Dane Ripper.
She’s yet to finish out of the money (4-2-2-1) over the 1400m, and while she races in Queensland for the first time is a consistent and promising Group 1 type who will also appreciate any rain with a solid Slow (4-2-0-0) and Heavy (2-2-0-0) track record.
Following Catkins in the Dane Ripper Stakes betting markets then are just two other single figure chances.
The $6 second pick, drawn nicely in gate four with gun young hoop Tommy Berry to ride, is the Gai Waterhouse-trained Cosmic Endeavour.
Coming off four top three runs the three-year-old Northern Meteor filly is in top form and looking to secure her third win for the season.
Three back she blitzed the field in the Group 2 Sapphire Stakes (1200m) at Randwick winning by two lengths before running third to Aerobics in the Group 3 Darley Crown at Hawkesbury and then winning again this time in the $400,000 Inglis Scone Guineas over 1400m on May 17.
Occupying the third line of betting at $7.50 is then Cosmic Endeavour’s Group 1 winning stablemate Driefontein in gate five with Nash Rawiller booked for the ride.
The former star juvenile is a now a rising five-year-old, Fastnet Rock mare Driefontein having won her first Group 1 at the end of April in the Robert Sangster Stakes in Adelaide.
She failed when 15th next start when backing up at the same track a fortnight later beaten over eight lengths by upset winner Smokin’ Joey in the Group 1 The Goodwood (1200m).
Failing to bounce back when bought to Brisbane to run seventh behind Spirit Of Boom in the Group 1 Doomben 10,000 (1350m), Driefontein is up against her own kind her in a Group 2 and is far better positioned to get back to form.
Just outside of the single figure Dane Ripper chances are then some well-priced hopes.
Among those are John Thompson’s early market mover Peron with the rails run looking to improve on a second last in the Doomben 10,000, the John O’Shea-trained Hawkesbury Darley Crown winner Aerobatics and Victorian raider Belle De Coeur all at $10.
The Luke Price-trained Belle De Coeur is also accepted for the Stradbroke Handicap on Saturday, where she would come up against her last start conqueror Srikandi who she ran second to in the Glenlogan Park Stakes, but is unlikely to gain a run as the fourth emergency for Queensland’s richest race.
The latest Dane Ripper Stakes 2014 betting odds are detailed in the table below complete with links so you can click on your favourite and back them at the top price online at Ladbrokes.com.au today!
