This weekend at Caulfield the Spring Cups path begins in earnest for a number of top gallopers who kick off their campaigns in the PB Lawrence Stakes 2014.
Puissance De Lune defends their title in the 2014 PB Lawrence Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday. Photo: Race Horse Photos Australia.
Running as Race 8 at 4:35pm, this year’s $200,000 Group 2 Back to Caulfield P.B. Lawrence Stakes (1400m) features a final field of 11 staying types.
Among the acceptors are a host of Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup bound runners including the defending PB Lawrence Stakes winner Puissance De Lune.
A $26 through Ladbrokes.com.au to win this year’s $3 million Group 1 BMW Caulfield Cup (2400m) back at the track on October 18, first the Darren Weir-trained Shamardal stallion will make their seven-year-old debut on Saturday.
Drawn well in barrier four for the weight-for-age clash with Brad Rawiller to ride, Puissance De Lune won the race 12 months ago first-up before a solid spring that included a second in both the Makybe Diva Stakes and Turnbull Stakes.
They pulled up lame however after their Cox Plate failure, 12th behind Shamus Award, and haven’t raced since adding to the anticipation of their weekend return.
Also paying $26 in Ladbrokes’ futures Caulfield Cup odds and taking on Puissance De Lune on Saturday is David Hayes & Tom Dabernig’s British import Spillway.
Having their second campaign down under after three runs in the autumn, the Rail Link stallion was last seen posting a two and a half length win over Danchai in the Group 3 JRA Plate (2000m) at Randwick.
They will now look to bring that form to Melbourne up to Group 2 company for the first time down under as they head towards a run in the Caulfield Cup and possibly also the $3 million Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley the following Saturday.
Other first-up Cup hopes in the Lawrence Stakes field this year include the Chris Waller-trained Foreteller, Star Rolling and Let’s Make Adeal.
Fellow seven-year-old Foreteller is after their first win since saluting in the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) to become a dual Group 1 winner in September last year.
They went on to run fourth in the Cox Plate before a failed Melbourne Cup run (17th) and also had a hit-and-miss autumn that finished with a dead last (9th) to current 2014 Cox Plate favourite Silent Achiever in the Group 1 The BMW (2400m) where they didn’t handle the Heavy (8) track.
Star Rolling then represents Peter Morgan and Craig Widdison and also ran ninth at the back of the pack in their lead-up run when beaten four lengths by last year’s Melbourne Cup winner Fiorente in the Group 1 Australian Cup (2000m) – a race Foreteller finished third in.
Having worked well in a gallop on Tuesday morning however co-trainer Morgan is confident the Casino Prince gelding can fire up quickly before taking on the Caulfield Cup field in October.
“At this stage I am more happy with him at the moment than I was last autumn,” he said on Tuesday.
“Let’s hope he is as good as he was last spring and he is going well.
“We are sort of heading towards all the big ones if he is good enough.”
Let’s Make Adeal meanwhile is 2014 Melbourne Cup bound for Flemington’s Nigel Blackiston, the last start Sydney Cup seventh placegetter one of three spring hopes resuming for their trainer on PB Lawrence Stakes Day.
There are then three in the PB Lawrence Stakes this year who are not having their first-up runs including the Peter Moody-trained Brambles.
Former winner of the Queensland Derby, the now six-year-old Savabeel gelding has been out of form this winter but looking to return to their former glory.
Moody has also accepted for his imported French stallion Lidari out wide in barrier 10 with Ben Melham to ride the Group 2 Blamey Stakes winner.
Zamorar and Gig meanwhile come off better lead-up form both having finished in the money in their two most recent runs.
David Bourne’s six-year-old Zamorar won at Flemington two back before a third to Tiger Tees last Saturday at the same track in the Group 3 Aurie’s Star Handicap (1200m).
Gig, drawn in barrier three this weekend, has had a little longer between runs the Tattersall’s Tiara graduate finishing second last time out to Thiamandi in the Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes (1200m).
The Lloyd Kennewell-trained Thiamandi was in the mix for the PB Lawrence Stakes but her trainer has opted to run her instead in the $120,000 Listed Regal Roller Stakes (1200m) where she gets in on the 54kg minimum.
See below for the full PB Lawrence Stakes 2014 field, barriers and jockeys.
too that this weekend Ladbrokes.com.au are offering a PB Lawrence Stakes Money Back Special up to $50 if your horse is second past the post in the Caulfield feature!
2014 PB Lawrence Stakes Final Field & Barrier Draw
Caulfield Race 8 (4:35pm) – 16/08/2014
| # | Form (Last 10) | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Br. | Wgt. | H. Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 240x45389x | FORETELLER (GB) | Chris Waller | Hugh Bowman | 7 | 59kg | 112 |
| 2 | 1x1x12720x | PUISSANCE DE LUNE (IRE) | Darren Weir | Brad Rawiller | 4 | 59kg | 111 |
| 3 | 243111×408 | BRAMBLES (NZ) | Peter G Moody | Luke Nolen | 9 | 59kg | 101 |
| 4 | 0x71x7020x | KINCAPLE (NZ) | Mark Webb | Dwayne Dunn | 8 | 59kg | 101 |
| 5 | 5x13x7190x | LIDARI (FR) | Peter G Moody | Ben Melham | 10 | 59kg | 103 |
| 6 | 0x294x0x13 | ZAMORAR | David Bourne | Ms Katelyn Mallyon (a) | 1 | 59kg | 98 |
| 7 | 5118200x0x | EXCLUDED (NZ) | Byron Cozamanis | Steven Arnold | 6 | 59kg | 97 |
| 8 | x015x5239x | STAR ROLLING | Peter Morgan & Craig Widdison | Stephen Baster | 11 | 59kg | 100 |
| 9 | 30344x781x | SPILLWAY (GB) | David Hayes & Tom Dabernig | Damien Oliver | 5 | 59kg | 99 |
| 10 | 6226330832 | GIG | Shawn Mathrick | Vlad Duric | 3 | 57kg | 92 |
| 11 | 423x87477x | LET’S MAKE ADEAL | Nigel Blackiston | Chad Schofield | 2 | 57kg | 99 |
