Trainer Ron Quinton’s two gun mares in the Queen Of The Turf Stakes 2018 field on Saturday, Daysee Doom and Dixie Blossoms, have drawn the two outside barriers for the Royal Randwick showdown.
Daysee Doom has the outside barrier to overcome in Saturday’s Queen Of The Turf Stakes 2018 field at Randwick. Photo: Steve Hart.
One of four elite level autumn races on the bumper 10-race card for Day 2 of ‘The Championships’, this season’s Group 1 $1 million Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m) is known as the Coolmore Legacy Stakes and runs as the penultimate event on the line-up at 4:25pm (AEST).
The Coolmore Legacy Stakes field attracted 17 final acceptors on Tuesday including the Quinton-trained stablemates Daysee Doom and Dixie Blossoms who have work to do from gates 17 and 16 respectively.
History shows that in over 30 years no Queen Of The Turf Stakes winner has jumped from wider than gate 15, but both of Quinton’s two hopefuls remain at single-figures in the latest markets for Saturday at Ladbrokes.com.au.
Last Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival Dixie Blossoms ran third to Foxplay in the Queen Of The Turf Stakes results and this year the now five-year-old daughter of Street Sense is narrow favourite to go two better and win.
She sits top of the latest Queen Of The Turf Stakes odds at $5.50 despite the wide alley after her lead-up third in a blanket finish when a half-length off the winner Prompt Response in Rosehill’s Group 2 Emancipation Stakes (1500m).
Dixie Blossoms should enjoy returning to Royal Randwick on Saturday, a track she boats four wins and three minor placings from eight previous starts over.
She and jockey Corey Brown also continue associations, Brown chasing a third win in the race after previous success aboard Camino Rose (1999) and Hosannah (2003).
As for Daysee Doom, the five-year-old Domesday mare is also an Emancipation Stakes graduate from March 31 having dropped off the lead to run fifth in the lead-up race still under a length beaten.
She is at $8 for the win and has Andrew Adkins in the saddle again, the young hoop aboard for all three of her runs this prep including the Group 2 Millie Fox Stakes (1300m) and Group 1 Coolmore Classic (1500m) wins at Rosehill.
The Emancipation Stakes has produced two of the past four Queen Of The Turf Stakes winners with Diamond Drille (4th in 2014) and the also Gai Waterhouse-trained Amanpour (2nd in 2015) the following year.
Waterhouse boats an outstanding record in the race with eight wins in total and this year Sydney’s leading lady of racing saddles-up the Emancipation Stakes winner Prompt Response in the field.
Drawn gate seven on Saturday with Blake Shinn retaining the ride, the four-year-old daughter of Beneteau beat a host of the same rivals last time out and is now chasing her first win at Randwick.
From three previous goes at the track, Prompt Response has twice run second and she is also yet to win over a mile giving the $8 shot another obstacle to overcome on the weekend to keep the winning streak going.
The other single-figure shot in the latest Queen Of The Turf Stakes betting markets at $9 is then Spanish Reef chasing fourth win on the trot from a wide gate 15 draw.
Ken Keys’ Lope De Vega four-year-old comes off a trio of Victorian wins and is in Sydney for the first time this weekend also stepping up in grade for her first Group 1 assignment.
Her latest run was on March 23 at The Valley where she took out the Group 2 Sunline Stakes (1600m) over the mile by nearly three lengths and should she keep the form going on Saturday will be the first Queen Of The Turf champ from a Melbourne lead-up since Typhoon Tracy (2010).
Check out the full Queen Of The Turf Stakes 2018 field and betting odds below, prices available online through Ladbrokes.com.au.
