Odds-on favourite Capitalist could be scratched from Saturday’s 2016 Missile Stakes if the Randwick meeting even continues with heavy and continuing rainfall in Sydney.
Tycoon Tara (pictured) could be the only 2016 Missile Stakes runner for Team Snowden if favourite Capitalist doesn’t line-up on a wet Randwick track. Photo: Sarah Ebbett.
The entire south coast of New South Wales has been hit with a deluge of rain this week forcing the abandonment of Thursday’s Coffs Harbour Cup day meeting.
Racing NSW and the connections of all horses engaged for the weekend’s major at Royal Randwick are now on serious weather and track watch as the threat of a cancelled Missile Stakes Day meeting also becomes real.
The program is headlined by the season’s first Sydney Group race – the $175,000 Group 2 Missile Stakes (1200m) – where Team Snowden’s star young colt Capitalist is down to resume.
He is one of only seven Missile Stakes acceptors, and the first three-year-old entered for the weight-for-age feature since Dance Hero and Snippetson ran the quinella in 2005.
Co-trainer Peter Snowden however told the media this week if the rain doesn’t ease up ahead of the weekend the team wouldn’t hesitate to scratch the Golden Slipper winner.
“If we keep getting rain all week I’ll have to have a think about it,” Snowden said.
“If the weather picks up it will be no problem, he’ll run.”
The son of Written Tycoon has won four of his five starts to date including most famously the $3.5 million Group 1 Golden Slipper Stakes (1200m) on March 19 defeating subsequent Inglis Sires winning filly Yankee Rose.
All of Capitalist’s starts have been on Good rated tracks however opening him up to being vulnerable on a rain-affected course against the older runners in the Missile Stakes.
“Whether he can handle the bog track is the unknown,” Snowden said of the Golden Rose-bound champ who comes off two recent Randwick trial wins with Kerrin McEvoy, booked for the ride on Saturday, in the saddle.
“His two trials this time in have been on soft and he’s got through that quite well so maybe he can handle it.”
Despite doubts about his run, the bookies are taking no chances with the gun colt odds-on at $1.50 in the current Missile Stakes betting markets at Ladbrokes.com.au.
His closest rival is the 2014 third placegetter Rebel Dane ($3.80) who has had two Heavy track runs to date for two seconds and who won in Group 2 company at the track first-up last September.
On Wednesday 25mm of rain fell at Randwick until 9am with a further 19mm hitting the course until 3pm.
Snowden said if they did decide to run in the Missile, the 51.5kg light-weight would help Capitalist get through the heavy going.
“He gets the weight pull and that will be to his advantage on a heavy track,” he said.
“On the other side of the coin you don’t want to have a gut buster first-up either.”
The Snowdens also have $31 roughie Tycoon Tara in the Missile Stakes mix this year with Capitalist’s regular rider Blake Shinn, who was unable to get down to the light weight to stay on the favourite, booked for the ride.
Sharing the same sire as her star stablemate, six-year-old Tycoon Tara hasn’t raced since a 12th to Jimando over 1400m at Flemington back in May when still prepared by her previous trainer Symon Wilde.
After a fourth to Capitalist in an 850m hit-out on July 29, the mare returns to racing on Saturday but isn’t really a winning hope om this class of field according to Snowden.
“She has beaten some pretty handy horses in previous wins,” he said.
“There might be a race for her later on in the carnival.”
Check out the current Missile Stakes 2016 betting odds and offers online now at Ladbrokes.com.au – home of Odds Boost!
