This Saturday the Queensland Winter Racing Carnival action moves a little west for Ipswich Cup Day where one of the three majors is the Gai Waterhouse Classic 2014 for fillies and mares.
Pickabee has form around Stradbroke Handicap third placed Srikandi leading into Saturday's Gai Waterhouse Classic 2014. Photo: Daniel Costello.
Running as Ipswich Race 5 at 2:30pm this year’s $100,000 Listed Sky Racing Gai Waterhouse Classic (1350m) features a final field of 14 hopefuls led by the Kelly Schweida-trained Discreet.
Drawn in double digits with barrier 10, the Show A Heart four-year-old will be ridden by top Brisbane hoop Chris Munce and carry the 59kg top weight.
It’s a notable rise from the 55kg they carried in the listed Bright Shadow Stakes (1200m) on Queensland Oaks Day last time out when finishing second last (9th) behind Ellawisdom.
Coming off a much better run in the Bright Shadow from May 31 meanwhile is the Stuart Kendrick-trained runner-up Avaladyluck.
The Bradbury’s Luck four-year-old was a length and a half off the winner that day and is out to go one better on Saturday from her nice barrier six draw getting in on the 54kg minimum again.
Following Discreet in the Gai Waterhouse Classic field and weights on 56kg meanwhile is then Timothy Bell’s mount Pickabee.
Prepared by Caitlin Lavin on the Sunshine Coast this Jet Spur mare won back-to-back Brisbane races before an unsuccessful Group 2 Tristarc Stakes (1200m) run finishing 11th in the Caulfield feature last season.
She returned off a lengthy seven month break at Doomben on May 17 in the Listed Junamo Stakes (1200m) and caught the eye when third to Srikandi.
Srikandi trumped the form of that run winning the Group 3 Glenlogan Park Stakes at her next start and then running a brave third beaten only a length by another Sunshine Coast-trained galloper, River Lad, in the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) last weekend.
Last year’s Gai Waterhouse Classic winner Peron meanwhile won the race on the back of two earlier Queensland wins.
This year there are just two last start winners in the mix looking to continue their runs with the David Vandyke-trained Breakfast In Bed and Griante drawn at opposite ends of the field in barriers three and 12 respectively.
Sydney raider Breakfast In Bed won a Benchmark 80 over 1200m at Randwick on May 24, the Hussonet mare’s second win in four starts since the start of the year.
David Brideoake & David Feels’ Good Journey filly Griante meanwhile makes her Black Type debut here.
The promising three-year-old has run top two in all but one of her eight career starts so far including four wins.
Three of those have been on the trot leading up to the Gai Waterhouse Classic, the most recent of which was over the Sandown Lakeside mile on May 31.
She carried 58kg from barrier three that day.
Griante is down in distance for this, and drops right back to 54kg with Dwyane Dunn riding, but must handle the double digit barrier.
“Griante has been in such good form in Melbourne and there is probably not much more program that would have suited her,” Brideoake told Racing Ahead on Tuesday.
“While she was in such great shape it was worth a shot at the Black Type.”
Other notable hopefuls in the mix then include Michael Moroney’s Kiwi import Spitfire Lady in her Australian debut, Bright Shadow third placegetter Saturn Rock and the Mick Price-trained Jazz Song.
Fastnet Rock filly Jazz Song won the Group 3 Typhoon Tracy Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley in February and is after her first win since here.
She’s been thereabouts all campaign including her second to Group 1 winner Miracles Of Life in the Group 2 Euclase Stakes (1200m) in Adelaide at the start of May.
From there she ran a credible fifth in the Glenlogan Park Stakes and then fifth again last time out when under half a length off Sir Moments in a blanket finish in the Group 2 Queensland Guineas (1400m).
See below for the full Gai Waterhouse Classic 2014 field, barriers, jockeys and weights.
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2014 Gai Waterhouse Classic Final Field & Barrier Draw
Ipswich Race 5 (2:30pm) – 14/06/2014
| # | Form (Last 10) | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Br. | Wgt. | H. Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 745131x0x9 | DISCREET | Kelly Schweida | Chris Munce | 10 | 59kg | 91 |
| 2 | 81124110×3 | PICKABEE | Caitlin Lavin | Timothy Bell | 14 | 56kg | 85 |
| 3 | 3213×09050 | CUDDLESOME | Les Ross | Brad Stewart | 11 | 55.5kg | 84 |
| 4 | 2350×46310 | ENDLESS SHADOW | Peter Hulbert | Tegan Harrison (a) | 4 | 55.5kg | 84 |
| 5 | 17×16255 | JAZZ SONG | Mick Price | Jim Byrne | 7 | 55.5kg | 85 |
| 6 | 6x93314x71 | BREAKFAST IN BED | David Vandyke | Michael Cahill | 3 | 55kg | 83 |
| 7 | 3280×22294 | SPITFIRE LADY | Michael Moroney | Eddie Wilkinson | 5 | 55kg | 83 |
| 8 | 00×2717264 | TUKIYO | Lacey Morrison | Vinnie Colgan | 2 | 55kg | 83 |
| 9 | 2×1522111 | GRIANTE | David Brideoake & David Feek | Dwayne Dunn | 12 | 54kg | 82 |
| 10 | 4x25227x62 | AVALADYLUCK | Stuart Kendrick | Ashley Butler | 6 | 54kg | 80 |
| 11 | 0x75418140 | CENTREPET | Tony Gollan | Jason Taylor | 1 | 54kg | 79.5 |
| 12 | 42561780×7 | FANTISHA | Steven O’dea | Ric McMahon | 13 | 54kg | 78 |
| 13 | 3414×50603 | SATURN ROCK | Tony Crane | Larry Cassidy | 9 | 54kg | 78 |
| 14 | 3×35601430 | ARMS LENGTH | Kurt Goldman | Anthony Allen (a) | 8 | 54kg |
