Paul Preusker’s in-form gelding I Am Someone is narrow early favourite in a ten-horse field for the popular All Victorian Sprint Series Final 2020 down the iconic Flemington ‘Straight Six’ on Saturday.
Tavisan is one of the top fancies in 2020 All Victorian Sprint Series Final betting at Flemington this weekend. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.
It is Flemington Finals Day at HQ this weekend and one of the meeting’s feature races is the Listed $128,000 Furphy All Victorian Sprint Series Final (1200m).
The bookies are having a hard time separating the top two in betting with the markets at Ladbrokes.com.au led by last start winner I Am Someone ($4.60), while Tavisan for Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr. follows closely on $4.80.
Onemorenomore five-year-old I Am Someone continued his solid record at the Flemington track on June 20 winning the $100,000 Adam Lindsay Gordon Handicap (1100m) by a quarter-length carrying 56kg.
The Group 1 performed sprinter goes up to 57.5kg this weekend with Declan Bates retaining the ride, but is tipped to handle the extra kilos and make it back-to-back Flemington wins.
Hot on his heels is in-form Tavistock four-year-old Tavisan who won at Caulfield two-back before a third behind Ashlor at The Valley on June 13 in the $100,000 Sweeney Real Estate Agents Handicap (1200m).
Tavisan was only a length off the winner as the beaten favourite that run carrying 57kg and comes back to 56.5kg on Saturday with top hoop Ben Melham to ride from barrier two as the horse looks for his first top three run at Flemington.
In a wide-open betting race, there are a further four horses under double-figure All Victorian Sprint Series Final odds including Rich Charm ($6.50) and Snitzkraft ($7).
Udyta Clarke’s stable ace Rich Charm is looking to return to his better form, the now seven-year-old having won the Group 2 Linlithgow Stakes at the track in distance in November of 2017 at the prime of his career.
Sixth in the next autumn’s Group 1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m), Rich Charm has had just the one win since in April of 2018 and spent over a year on the sidelines before his return in March this year.
Two back he finished a devastatingly close second to Great Again in the Listed Straight Six (1200m) here before running three lengths back ninth to Saturday’s favourite I Am Someone four weeks later.
The Phillip Stokes-trained Snitzel entire Snitzkraft has his fifth Flemington run on the weekend having run second only once prior at the track when runner-up to Prezado here on June 6 over 1000m.
The next best in betting is the early market mover, aforementioned Straight Six winner Great Again ($8.50) with the outside alley to overcome.
The rails-drawn Milwaukee ($9), runner-up in the race 12 months ago, then rounds out the single-figure fancies in this year’s event.
The Michael Moroney-trained Fastnet Rock six-year-old is looking to atone for his eighth to I Am Someone last time out, which followed his last (13th) in the Straight Six run on a Heavy (8).
Moroney however is confident the horse presents as a better chance on Saturday.
“He was in behind them all dressed up ready to go and he never got a go at them,” he told Racing Victoria.
“It’s hard to know where he would have run, because you never know when they get in the clear, but he certainly did look pretty luckless.
“He likes the straight, the track conditions should be more to suit – I think he’s a horse that just wants that little bit of give in the ground only, he doesn’t like it too wet – so it should be ideal for him and he’s getting down to a pretty dangerous stage in the weights for him.”
The Neville Parnham-trained Malibu Style meanwhile is at $12 to go back-to-back in the race, the defending champion chasing successive wins having beaten Milwaukee home by a half-length when jumping at the same price in the event last year.
Click here for the latest All Victorian Sprint Series Final 2020 betting odds courtesy of Ladbrokes.com.au.
2020 All Victorian Sprint Series Final Field & Barriers
| No | Last 10 | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | Penalty | H Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12211x0x16 | GREAT AGAIN | Lindsey Smith | Michael Rodd | 10 | 59kg | 100 | |
| 2 | 347×793440 | MALIBU STYLE | Neville Parnham | Damien Oliver | 8 | 59kg | 100 | |
| 3 | x49x0x0x29 | RICH CHARM | Udyta Clarke | Patrick Moloney | 7 | 58.5kg | 99 | |
| 4 | 2102x00x31 | I AM SOMEONE | Paul Preusker | Declan Bates | 9 | 57.5kg | 97 | |
| 5 | 5x30x04308 | MILWAUKEE | Michael Moroney | Jye McNeil | 1 | 56.5kg | 95 | |
| 6 | x149086062 | SNITZKRAFT | Phillip Stokes | Ben Allen | 4 | 56.5kg | 95 | |
| 7 | 17168×5413 | TAVISAN (NZ) | Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr) | Ben Melham | 2 | 56.5kg | 95 | |
| 8 | 83147×9559 | RICH ITCH | Shawn Mathrick | Dwayne Dunn | 5 | 56kg | 92 | |
| 9 | 0x64x21x74 | LORD VON COSTA | Donna Scott | Craig Williams | 6 | 56kg | 85 | |
| 10 | 23616×1252 | HI STRANGER | Shane Fliedner | Billy Egan | 3 | 56kg | 76 |
*Table Credit: Racing Australia.
