The Phillip Stokes-trained Miss Gunpowder is one of the headline acceptors in the capacity Blazer Stakes 2016 field of mares facing off at Flemington on Turnbull Stakes Day this Sunday in Melbourne.
Miss Gunpowder is one of the in-form mares lining-up at Flemington in Sunday’s 2016 Blazer Stakes. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.
Due to jump at 4:35pm (AEDT) as Flemington Race 8 as the penultimate event on the nine-race card, this year’s $200,000 Group 2 Blazer Stakes (1400m) drew a full field of 16 starters plus three emergencies.
Heading the field and equal 58kg top weight in the set weights plus penalties clash, Miss Gunpowder is a four-year-old daughter of Pendragon having her first run at the famous Flemington track.
She is third-up for the spring and was last seen running a brave third under a length off the winner Alaskan Rose in a Benchmark 90 for mares over the same distance at Caulfield a fortnight back.
Carrying the same kilos on Sunday with Dom Tourneur retaining the ride, Miss Gunpowder is also drawn well in barrier five and chases her first win since taking out last year’s Group 3 Thousand Guineas Prelude (1400m) 12 months ago.
A host of mares come off a Group placing last time out including last year’s runner-up Manageress and Jessy Belle who ran third and fourth respectively behind Don’t Doubt Mamma at the track on September 10 in the Group 2 Let’s Elope Stakes (1400m).
Cindy Alderson prepares five-year-old Manageress who was defeated just a half-length for her Let’s Elope placing, which was her first run since the second to Lucia Valentina in the Group 2 Matriarch Stakes (2000m) last Emirates Stakes Day.
Second-up off the lengthy spell, Manageress should be improving and she has plenty of form at Flemington (9-2-2-2) she will be looking to capitalise on from gate seven with Chris Parnham riding this weekend.
Jessy Belle meanwhile has drawn one of the far outside barriers in the Blazer Stakes field, the Lindsay Park-trained daughter of Rock Of Gibraltar with plenty of work to do to make up ground third-up for the season.
She too finished in the money in last year’s Blazer Stakes trifecta dead-heating for third with Lucky Lago in the race won by La e (2015).
She is ed by stablemates Catch A Fire in the second widest gate carrying 58kg, first emergency Majestic Lass who has run fourth in her three lead-up races and Metaphorical.
Metaphorical ran fifth first-up in the Let’s Elope Stakes only 1.1 lengths off the winner and is drawn well in barrier four with Luke Currie retaining the ride on the weekend.
Also drawn well in gate six and coming off a Group placing is the Robert Smerdon-trained Not A Single Doubt six-year-old Every Faith.
She ran second to Secret Agenda in the Group 3 How Now Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on September 17 as a $51 roughie and has Ryan Maloney aboard again on Sunday as she looks to run in the money again second-up.
Other notable Blazer Stakes hopes include the Chris Waller-trained runner-up to Alaskan Rose two weeks back French Emotion coming back from 58kg to 55kg on Sunday and the Darren Weir-trained Telopea down in class after a close eighth only beaten three lengths in last Saturday’s Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m).
See below for the full Blazer Stakes 2016 field, barriers, jockeys and weights then visit Ladbrokes.com.au for access to the weekend’s top racing offers.
2016 Blazer Stakes Final Field & Barrier Draw
Flemington Race 8 (4:35pm) – 02/10/2016
| # | Form (Last 10) | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Br. | Wgt. | H. Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 118x227x43 | MISS GUNPOWDER | Phillip Stokes | Dom Tourneur | 5 | 58kg | 85 |
| 2 | x311034x16 | CATCH A FIRE | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Damian Lane | 18 | 58kg | 88 |
| 3 | 100×071100 | IGGIMACOOL | Robert Smerdon | TBA | 9 | 57kg | 103 |
| 4 | 43175x380x | CORONATION SHALLAN | Brett Scott | Daniel Stackhouse | 11 | 57kg | 93 |
| 5 | 326x611x50 | ANTELUCAN | John O’Shea | James McDonald | 19 | 57kg | 80 |
| 6 | x0x6533316 | VIBRANT ROUGE | Michael Kent | Luke Nolen | 10 | 56kg | 91 |
| 7 | 4537635×04 | JESSY BELLE | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Chris Symons | 17 | 55kg | 92 |
| 8 | 5x581804x2 | EVERY FAITH | Robert Smerdon | Ryan Maloney | 6 | 55kg | 87 |
| 9 | 43242372×5 | METAPHORICAL | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Luke Currie | 4 | 55kg | 92 |
| 10 | 83141282×3 | MANAGERESS | Cindy Alderson | Chris Parnham | 7 | 55kg | 93 |
| 11 | 4421221388 | TELOPEA (GB) | Darren Weir | Damien Oliver | 3 | 55kg | 90 |
| 12 | 111220×672 | FRENCH EMOTION | Chris Waller | Ben Melham | 16 | 55kg | 85 |
| 13 | 221590×060 | ANAPHORA | Tony Noonan | TBA | 13 | 55kg | 78 |
| 14 | x56324x759 | ROCKOLICIOUS | Darren Weir | Craig Williams | 2 | 55kg | 85 |
| 15 | 3x115x11x7 | CLEMENCY | Robert Smerdon | TBA | 1 | 55kg | 81 |
| 16 | x084247625 | NIMINYPIMINY | Russell Cameron | Kerrin McEvoy | 14 | 55kg | 75 |
| 17e | x152x11444 | MAJESTIC LASS | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Michael Walker | 12 | 55kg | 75 |
| 18e | 13x12x | EURO ANGEL (NZ) | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | Dwayne Dunn | 15 | 55kg | 73 |
| 19e | 4x150x72 | PURE PRIDE (NZ) | Murray Johnson | Patrick Moloney | 8 | 55kg | 62 |
