As part of a sports fan’s super charged weekend of footy and racing, Sunday sees a crack field of gallopers face off in the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes 2014 at Melbourne’s Caulfield Racecourse.
Sweet Idea is the 2014 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes market mover and co-favourite for Sunday's showdown. Photo: Daniel Costello.
A bumper field of 14 is in the mix for this year’s $400,000 Group 1 Bendigo Bank East Malvern Sir Rupert Clarke Charity Cup (1400m) which runs as Caulfield Race 7 at 4:40pm.
Favourite in the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes odds at Ladbrokes.com.au paying $7 are two gallopers, Peter Moody’s in-form Sebring gelding Dissident and the Gai Waterhouse-trained Sweet Idea.
Both come off excellent lead-up form, especially the Moody-trained four-year-old who will carry the 58kg top weight.
Dissident is a triple Group 1 winner, two of those elite level victories coming on the trot this time in with the horse completing the Memsie Stakes – Makybe Diva Stakes double.
He’s eased out in Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes betting however from an opening price of $5 to $7 despite his nice barrier five draw with Ben Melham staying on.
The weight is the big factor here with Dissident giving a minimum 2.5kgs away to some class rivals.
Sweet Idea is one of those, the four-year-old daughter of Snitzel getting in on 53.5kg which is a full three kilos less than the 56.5kg she carried last time out when runner-up to Dissident in the Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) on August 14.
She’s had a month between runs to freshen-up and is looking to return to her first-up winning form in Sydney when she beat home Messene and Rebel Dane in the Group 2 Missile Stakes (1200m).
Sweet Idea will be ridden by Tommy Berry on Sunday and he’s been g the mare praises all week saying she’ll have improvement on the Memsie after having had a start at the track now.
The punters are reacting to Berry’s comments too with Sweet Idea firming in from $8 to $7 to break her Group 1 maiden status and the $2 million in prize money benchmark.
Following closely in a red tight Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes betting battle are then Cluster ($7.50) and Trust In A Gust ($8).
The Peter & Paul Snowden-trained Cluster is in from $8 in earlier markets, the Fastnet Rock four-year-old having won three of his past four starts.
The most recent of those was a fortnight ago in Sydney when defeating the now Chris Waller-trained Bull Point, the big Sir Rupert Clarke market easer out from $8 to $10, in the Group 2 Theo Marks Stakes (1400m) at Rosehill.
Trust In A Gust then has come in from $9 to $8 for this class rise here, Darren Weir’s stallion on the seven day back-up after a win over the track and distance here last Saturday.
He carried 55.5kg that day with Brad Rawiller riding, Damian Lane in the saddle on Sudnay with a big drop down in distance to just 52kg to work in the horse’s favour.
The last of the single figure hopes is then Dissident’s stable mate A Time For Julia who is steady at $9, Moody’s Redoute’s Choice mare coming off two Group 3 seconds against her own kind including behind Girl Guide last weekend at the track in the How Now Stakes over 1200m.
See below for the latest Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes 2014 odds.
Don’t forget also that Best Tote or SP + 20% markets are also open Ladbrokes.com.au giving you the best chance of cleaning up this weekend!
