Flight Stakes winner Alizee remains favourite in Thousand Guineas 2017 betting ahead of the Caulfield Group 1 this Saturday but money is starting to come for rival Shoals.
Shoals is the early 2017 Thousand Guineas betting market mover for the Caulfield Group 1 for fillies on Saturday. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.
Just eight three-year-old fillies are set to face off in a disappointingly small Group 1 $500,000 Schweppes Thousand Guineas (1600m) field on Ladbrokes Caulfield Guineas Day.
Of the eight, three are under double-figures for the win in the latest Thousand Guineas odds at Ladbrokes.com.au including the market mover Shoals backed in from $5 to $4.50.
Drawn barrier four, which produced recent Thousand Guineas winners Atlantic Jewel (2011) and Stay With Me (2015), the Anthony Freedman-trained daughter of Fastnet Rock has won all but one of her five career starts.
During the autumn Shoals won Flemington’s Group 3 Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) down the straight before heading to Randwick for a narrow victory in the Group 2 Percy Sykes Stakes (1200m) as a two-year-old in the wet.
First-up as a three-year-old this campaign she made it four-from-four with success right away at The Valley in the Listed Atlantic Jewel Stakes (1200m).
Stepping up for her first start over further than 1200m, Shoals’ winning streak ended when she crossed a half-length back for second behind the winner Booker in the Group 2 Thousand Guineas Prelude (1400m) on October 1.
This weekend she gets the chance to turn the tables on her last start conqueror, Mark Zahra retaining the ride in the Thousand Guineas field.
The Thousand Guineas Prelude winner Booker, prepared by Mathew Ellerton & Simon Zahra, is out to be the first to do the double since Irish Lights (2009).
Booker pays $6.50 in the Thousand Guineas betting markets, her hoop Dwayne Dunn confident she will see out the mile.
It isn’t the Prelude form that the bookies are tipping to stack-up however but that of Sydney’s Group 1 Flight Stakes (1600m).
The Flight Stakes – Thousand Guineas double has recently been achieved by Guelph (2013) and Global Glamour (2016).
This season it is the James Cummings-trained Alizee for Godolphin who backs up off the Flight Stakes win at Randwick heading to Melbourne for the first time in the Thousand Guineas.
She was impressive in the Group 1 mile feature on September 30 winning by over two lengths and has Glyn Schofield in the saddle again on Saturday from barrier two.
Alizee is the clear $2.20 favourite to salute, but has eased out slightly from $2.10.
Of the longer-priced fillies after an upset Thousand Guineas result on Saturday those with claims include the Darren Weir-trained Leather’n’lace ($12) backing up from a third in the Group 2 Edward Manifold Stakes over the Flemington mile last Saturday and JJ Atkins runner-up in the winter Aloisia ($12) coming off a fifth behind Leather’n’lace in an earlier Caulfield race on September 23.
Check out the full Thousand Guineas 2017 betting odds below, following the links to lock in your selections at the hottest prices this weekend through Ladbrokes.com.au.
