Chris Waller could be in for another feature race quinella in the 2022 Surround Stakes on Saturday with his two best fillies out of the Light Fingers Stakes tipped to dominate at Royal Randwick again.
Fangirl (pink silks) for Chris Waller is one of the standout hopes in the 2022 Surround Stakes field at Randwick on Saturday. Photo: Steve Hart.
The key act on Chipping Norton Stakes Day in Sydney, this weekend’s Group 1 $500,000 Surround Stakes (1400m) field features a capacity line-up of three-year-old fillies.
Heading the Surround Stakes odds at Ladbrokes.com.au is his untapped daughter of Extreme Choice Espiona at $2.15 to atone for her last start loss.
Previously undefeated having won her opening two career starts in the spring by a combined margin of 10 lengths on Soft tracks, she was odds-on first-up in the Group 2 Light Fingers Stakes (1200m) on February 12 on a Good (4).
Despite being beaten, it was in a photo-thriller with her stablemate Fangirl and she lost few irers going down a nose fresh.
Up to 1400m second-up with improvement to come, Espiona is tipped to turn the tables and post an elite level win at just her fourth career start from a wide alley (13) with James McDonald retaining the ride.
Further working in her favour is the wet track conditions in Sydney, which could be the undoing of a few of her rivals in the Surround.
Waller’s Light Fingers Stakes winning Sebring filly Fangirl occupies the second line of Surround Stakes betting at $4.40 to beat home Espiona again.
She has suffered a slight early setback drawn out in gate 16 with Hugh Bowman aboard.
Fangirl won three on the trot in the spring including beating home the boys by three lengths at Flemington in the Group 3 Carbine Club Stakes (1600m).
Her first-up upset saw her extend the winning streak and going up to 1400m will also suit her in the Group 1 rematch this weekend.
Along with the dominant duo Waller also saddles up Hinged in this year’s Surround Stakes field chasing his first victory in the event.
Drawn the inside alley with Brenton Avdulla to ride the Worthy Cause filly, best known for her Group 1 Flight Stakes second over the Randwick mile last October, is at current Surround Stakes odds of $26 to improve on her seventh as a roughie in the Light Fingers.
The two fillies that ran the Light Fingers quinella are the only ones the bookies are really rating to win the Surround with the next closest in betting being
The remainder of the field can be had at $21 or longer opening up potential value should the favourites flop.
Of the outsiders those that could surprise on the day include: Thousand Guineas winner Yearning ($26) racing first-up from barrier two with William Pike in the saddle, the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-rained Flight Stakes champion Never Been Kissed ($26) also resuming, the Rob Heathcote-trained Queenslander Startantes ($26), Godolphin’s proven wet-tracker Larkspur Run ($31) and even the Kim Waugh-trained Sweet Ruby ($51) chasing a third win on the trot.
The Surround Stakes 2022 is set to run as Randwick Race 8 at 4:45pm (AEDT) with the latest markets from Ladbrokes.com.au available in full here.
2022 Surround Stakes Field & Barrier Draw
| No | Last 10 | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | Probable Weight | Penalty | H Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25x491214x | YEARNING | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | William Pike | 2 | 56kg | 104 | ||
| 2 | 11912x | NEVER BEEN KISSED (NZ) | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Regan Bayliss | 9 | 56kg | 95 | ||
| 3 | 4x3111x1 | FANGIRL | Chris Waller | Hugh Bowman | 16 | 56kg | 93 | ||
| 4 | 144x3516x0 | FOUR MOVES AHEAD | John Sargent | Nash Rawiller | 18 | 56kg | 92 | ||
| 5 | x2111026x7 | HINGED | Chris Waller | Brenton Avdulla | 1 | 56kg | 92 | ||
| 6 | 621x418x93 | JAMAEA | Robert & Luke Price | Brock Ryan | 8 | 56kg | 92 | ||
| 7 | 11×2 | ESPIONA | Chris Waller | James McDonald | 13 | 56kg | 90 | ||
| 8 | 5111630×36 | STARTANTES | Robert Heathcote | Jason Collett | 11 | 56kg | 89 | ||
| 9 | 1128×4 | ZOUZARELLA | Anthony & Sam Freedman | Chad Schofield | 17 | 56kg | 81 | ||
| 10 | 21x23204x5 | HERESY | James Cummings | Sam Clipperton | 6 | 56kg | 80 | ||
| 11 | 23×101126 | SHIHONKA | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Ms Rachel King | 14 | 56kg | 78 | ||
| 12 | 236×721711 | SWEET RUBY | Kim Waugh | Jay Ford | 5 | 56kg | 76 | ||
| 13 | 11x9x0 | TILIANAM (NZ) | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Tim Clark | 10 | 56kg | 76 | ||
| 14 | 1x172267x4 | LARKSPUR RUN | James Cummings | Glyn Schofield | 15 | 56kg | 75 | ||
| 15 | 26×15 | RINGAROSA | Gary Portelli | Keagan Latham | 12 | 56kg | 62 | ||
| 16 | 674x141x33 | HOPE IN YOUR HEART | Kerry Parker | Andrew Adkins | 7 | 56kg | 60 | ||
| 17e | 7140×0 | VON TRAPP | Mark Newnham | Joshua Parr | 3 | 56kg | 75 | ||
| 18e | 7×1 | I’M DIVINE | Edward Cummings | 4 | 56kg | 61 |
Table Credit: Racing Australia.
