The Peter & Paul Snowden-trained Hightail shapes up as a nice potential light weight chance in the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap in Brisbane following his dominant win in the 2020 Gold Coast Guineas on Saturday.
Hightail (pictured in Sydney) saluted for the punters in the 2020 Gold Coast Guineas results. Photo: Steve Hart.
The markets for this season’s Group 3 $125,000 Gold Coast Guineas (1200m) suggested the in-form Written Tycoon gelding was the one to beat and Hightail didn’t disappoint, saluting for the punters with a late win over a brave The Odyssey.
Hightail continued his good form at the Gold Coast track where his two previous runs produced the third in the 2019 Magic Millions Classic as a two-year-old and the fourth behind superstar Alligator Blood in the Magic Millions Guineas this January.
Freshened-up after that run, Hightail returned at Randwick’s Kensington track on May 2 to win a Benchmark 88 over 1250m.
He made it two on the trot in the Gold Coast Guineas results given a peach of a ride by jockey Ryan Maloney just off the pace.
In a surprising move, it was the Tony Gollan-trained Garibaldi who lead the Gold Coast Guineas field around ahead of Kelly Schweida’s flying Better Than Ready colt The Odyssey, the Chris Munce-trained Stampe who was well positioned in third and Bellevue Hill for the Bott-Waterhouse stable.
Hightail sat just behind the leading quartet, before moving up out wide on the straight and charging home over the final 150m.
The Odyssey, who was chasing a fourth straight win, did all the work but Hightail was building the late momentum and had the finish lunging right on the line to get up in a photo following a high-pressure race.
It was a brave second for The Odyssey who took his prize money up over the million-dollar mark with the close placing beaten only a half-head, while third in the Gold Coast Guineas trifecta went to Exhilarates out wide a length further back.
Hightail now looks nicely placed heading towards a potential Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap run over 1400m at Eagle Farm on June 6 where he would get in with practically no weight should connections head that way.
All-in 2020 Stradbroke Handicap odds at Ladbrokes.com.au have Hightail listed at $19 with full markets available here.
2020 Gold Coast Guineas Results
| Place | # | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Barrier | Weight | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | HIGHTAIL | Peter & Paul Snowden | Ryan Maloney | – | 8 | 57kg | $3.60F |
| 2 | 1 | THE ODYSSEY | Kelly Schweida | Ms Stephanie Thornton (a) | 0.1L | 12 | 57kg | $7.50 |
| 3 | 10 | EXHILARATES | James Cummings | Robbie Fradd | 1.1L | 13 | 55kg | $4 |
| 4 | 7 | SCATHING | Chris Munce | Justin Huxtable (a) | 1.9L | 6 | 57kg | $41 |
| 5 | 15 | READY BABE | Mark Currie | Matthew McGillivray | 2.4L | 14 | 55kg | $51 |
| 6 | 6 | RUUCA | Toby & Trent Edmonds | Brad Stewart | 2.7L | 7 | 57kg | $31 |
| 7 | 5 | GARIBALDI | Tony Gollan | Jim Byrne | 2.8L | 4 | 57kg | $19 |
| 8 | 8 | COMMAND’N’CONQUER | Steve Tregea | James Orman | 3.3L | 9 | 57kg | $6 |
| 9 | 4 | BELLEVUE HILL | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Michael Cahill | 4L | 2 | 57kg | $13 |
| 10 | 3 | STAMPE | Chris Munce | Sean Cormack | 5L | 1 | 57kg | $26 |
| 11 | 13 | ZAC ATTACK | Toby & Trent Edmonds | Baylee Nothdurft (a) | 6.5L | 5 | 55kg | $51 |
| 12 | 12 | BARODA | Toby & Trent Edmonds | Andrew Mallyon | 7.3L | 11 | 55kg | $21 |
| 13 | 16 | ELEGANT GRACE | Kris Lees | Larry Cassidy | 10.5L | 10 | 55kg | $151 |
| 14 | 17e | FINAL DECLARATION | Kacy Fogden | Jag Guthmann-Chester | 11.5L | 3 | 57kg | $151 |
| – | 9 | FISTICUFFS | Toby & Trent Edmonds | Matthew McGillivray | – | 0 | – | – |
| – | 14 | SWAN ISLAND | Beau Gorman | – | – | 0 | – | – |
| – | 11 | NIEDORP | Tony Gollan | – | – | 0 | – | – |
