Resuming All Aged Stakes winner Tofane has retained narrow favouritism to win the Bobbie Lewis Quality 2020 in Melbourne first-up this weekend with odds on the field firming following the withdrawal of Lindsey Smith’s WA galloper Great Again.
All Aged Stakes winner Tofane is narrow favourite to salute first-up in Flemington’s 2020 Bobbie Lewis Quality. Photo: Steve Hart.
Great Again is set to head straight to the paddock after being scratched from Saturday’s Group 2 $200,000 Bobbie Lewis Quality (1200m) at Flemington due to a swollen left-side jaw.
The veteran eight-year-old was last seen running second behind Home Of The Brave in the Group 3 Aurie’s Star Handicap (1200m) at the same track and distance in early August.
He was scratched from his scheduled next-up assignment with his spring campaign now over.
“He’s been in for a while,” Smith told Racing.com.
“He may as well have a spell while the spring time is there. He will come back for a little prep on top of the ground and then he will come back for next winter.
“One day everything will fall his way and he will win a really good race.”
Updated Bobbie Lewis Quality betting markets at Ladbrokes.com.au are a tense two-horse affair with Michael Moroney’s star Ocean Park mare Tofane ($3.70) currently just ten cents shorter in the markets than the early mover Zoutori ($3.80).
Jockey Damien Oliver chases his third win in the event in the past two decades and his first since Chong Tong (2002) coming aboard Tofane for her spring resumption.
The bonny bay was last seen winning the Group 1 All Aged Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on April 18 and the bookies are taking no chances with her in easier company on Saturday despite her being yet to win first-up.
The danger is last year’s champion Zoutori who has been well-backed in from $4.80 to $3.80 to enjoy back-to-back Bobbie Lewis Quality victories for the first time since Bon Hoffa (2007-08).
Drawn in barrier six with Mark Zahra to ride, the Matthew Ellerton & Simon Zahra-trained son of Zoustar resumes in the event and is out to add to his strong first-up record (6:3-1-1).
It’s been a year since his last victory in the same race last spring, but after some tough Group 1 runs in the past 12 months he is tipped to return to his best in easier grade fresh.
Outside the dominant duo the other best in Bobbie Lewis Quality betting on Makybe Diva Stakes Day 2020 include the Gordon Richards-trained Bold Star ($4.20) who has a stellar record at Flemington, the rails-drawn Silver Eagle winner The Inevitable ($6) from the Apple Isle and Written Tycoon four-year-old Banquo ($9) for last year’s Melbourne Cup winning trainer Danny O’Brien.
Click here for the latest Bobbie Lewis Quality 2020 odds courtesy of Ladbrokes.com.au.
2020 Bobbie Lewis Quality Field
| No | Last 10 | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | Penalty | H Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 011x77351x | TOFANE (NZ) | Michael Moroney | Damien Oliver | 3 | 58kg | 113 | |
| 2 | 342122319x | HELLOVA STREET | Scott Brunton | Jason Maskiell | 4 | 56kg | 105 | |
| 3 | 1336x2400x | ZOUTORI | Mathew Ellerton & Simon Zahra | Mark Zahra | 6 | 56kg | 105 | |
| 4 | x1110x820x | THE INEVITABLE | Scott Brunton | Ben Melham | 1 | 55.5kg | 104 | |
| 5 | 055x2308x8 | DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR | Tony & Calvin McEvoy | Luke Currie | 5 | 55kg | 103 | |
| 6 | 11x0x16232 | GREAT AGAIN | Lindsey Smith | Declan Bates | 10 | 54kg | 100 | |
| 7 | 12128438×4 | BOLD STAR | Gordon Richards | Craig Williams | 8 | 54kg | 95 | |
| 8 | 63x848115x | GALAXY RAIDER | Grahame Begg | Teodore Nugent (a) | 7 | 54kg | 95 | |
| 9 | 2114x325x7 | BANQUO | Danny O’Brien | Jye McNeil | 9 | 54kg | 84 | |
| 10 | x1860x1220 | ROCK PROPHET | Ray Besanko | Lewis German (a) | 2 | 54kg | 72 |
Table Credit: Racing Australia.
