This Saturday, April 16, the action of the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival continues with the last of the Group 1 races taking place at Royal Randwick Racecourse for All Aged Stakes Day 2016.
Press Statement is favourite to win the Randwick feature on today’s card – the 2016 All Aged Stakes. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.
It is partly cloudy in Sydney today with a top of 25 degrees, but with no chance of rain until early Sunday morning, the current Soft (5) track rating is likely to stay.
Randwick Track Report – 16/04/2016
- Rail: +9m 1600m to WP, +5m Remainder
- Penetrometer: 5.29
- Weather: Fine
- Track Rating: Soft (5)
- Irrigation: Nil
- Rainfall: Nil last 24 hrs, 7.8mm last 7 days
Racing kicks off today at 12:05pm (AEST) with the bumper nine-race Randwick card rounding out at 5:05pm (AEST).
There are six black-types on the program including two elite level features with the 2016 Champagne Stakes for the two-year-olds running without Yankee Rose as Race 5 before the meeting’s namesake, the 2016 All Aged Stakes takes place over the 1400m as Race 7 with all eight original acceptors still in the mix.
Check out the full All Aged Stakes Day program, scratchings and race previews below before heading to Ladbrokes.com.au to back your favourites across the card at the hottest odds at the home of Odds Boost!
Randwick Scratchings – 16/04/2016
Total Scratchings: 17
Race 1 (12:05pm) – $40,000 TAB Highway Handicap (1200m)
- #10 Therese (13)
The emergency Accessory Diva gets a run in the day’s opener, a Class 3 handicap but will jump at triple figures. It’s an open market with seven of the 13 starters under $10 for the win including Circle Game ($4.80) drawn a treat in gate two and racing for the first time since August last year. Bit of a risk backing the filly off so long a break, so better to look at market mover Dylan’s Dynasty ($8) drawn the rails and coming off an all-the-way Nowra win over 1100m or Touch Sensitive ($6) drawn wide but in flying form.
Race 2 (12:40pm) – $85,000 E-Group Security Sprint (1200m)
- #11 Maddhal (9)
One scratching from this BenchMark 83 handicap leaves 11 hopefuls led in betting by Santa Ana Lane ($2.70) who is heavily weighted (60.5kg), but comes off a black-type second over 1400m at the track and has Hugh Bowman staying on. The three-year-old will appreciate the drop in distance (3-2-0-0) and class and is a Group 3 winner from February at Caulfield.
Race 3 (1:15pm) – $150,000 Group 3 TJS Frank Packer Plate (2000m)
- #6 Rong Door Reggie (1)
The one scratching from the day’s first black-type brings the remaining 10 starters all in one barrier, the favourite of which at a short $2 for the win and firming is Old North (7). James McDonald is on the Lonhro colt for Godolphin and the favourite is after back-to-back Group wins over the 2000m after his Tulloch Stakes success in Group 2 class at Rosehill last start. Hard to knock.
Race 4 (1:50pm) – $150,000 Group 3 Kari J H B Carr Stakes (1400m)
- #14e Top Of My List (3)
- #15e Not A Cherry (7)
- #16e Perignon (9)
The three emergencies come out of this three-years-old fillies clash leaving the 13 starters, the bookies tipping Pearls ($3.30 into $2.60) to win. McDonald is aboard another John O’Shea-trained favourite, and this daughter of Exceed And Excel put the writing on the wall with a smart second in the Group 3 PJ Bell Stakes (1200m) last start. She’ll improve stepping out over 1400m, and was fourth in the Group 1 Flight Stakes (1600m) here in the spring so has class.
Race 5 (2:30pm) – $500,000 Group 1 Moet & Chandon Champagne Stakes (1600m)
- #9 Yankee Rose (4)
She was the odds-on favourite, but David Vandyke’s ATC Sires’ Produce winning filly Yankee Rose wasn’t ed fit to run in another Group 1. It has opened this two-years-old mile feature right up and new favourites are last Saturday’s Fernhill Handicap winner over the track / distance Prized Icon ($4) and the rails-drawn improver Obscura ($4) for the O’Shea – McDonald combo the bookies are so keen on this weekend.
Race 6 (3:05pm) – $150,000 Group 3 Hall Mark Stakes (1200m)
- #7 That’s A Good Idea (9)
- #12 My Favourite (7)
Two come out of this set weights sprint leaving a small field of 10 including Speak Fondly ($4) for Gai Waterhouse, the Northern Meteor filly a Group 1 winner thanks to the Flight Stakes success in the spring. She is three-from-five at Randwick including a Group 2 double over the track / distance last time in and will only improve off her Challenge Stakes run first-up after a blistering 5.3 length trial win at the track on April 8.
Race 7 (3:45pm) – $600,000 Group 1 Schweppes All Aged Stakes (1400m)
There are no current scratchings from the still diminutive All Aged Stakes field with only eight weight-for-age hopefuls lining up. The favourite is young Press Statement from the Chris Waller stables, the colt after a second Group 1 to add to the Caulfield Guineas last season. He’s got some pretty tough competition however including the market mover Malaguerra ($4) who heads towards Brisbane’s Stradbroke Handicap and Waller’s other runner Kermadec ($6) who looks the value and should be forgiven for the failed Doncaster title defence last time out.
Race 8 (4:25pm) – $150,000 Group 3 Sharp Japan Racing Association Plate (2000m)
- #12 Aomen (6)
- #15e Magicool (15)
- #16e Sense Of Occasion (12)
- #17e Maurus (4)
The first emergency Hippopus gets a run from a wide barrier here in the day’s last Group race, but is an outsider in betting firmly led by Havana Cooler ($3.90) to be ridden by McDonald from a gun gate two draw on the back of a Group 3 Doncaster Prelude (1500m) win late last month. Biggest dangers are Team Hawks’ in-form seven-year-old Messene ($6) coming off two Group 3 seconds over the distance at Rosehill and Easter Cup runner-up Guardini ($6).
Race 9 (5:05pm) – $85,000 TAB Rewards Royal Randwick 100 (1400m)
- #9 Snippets Land (14)
- #15e Lunar Rise (3)
- #16e Spy Decoder (5)
- #17e Farolitos (11)
A full field of 13 still line-up in the last with the Peter & Paul Snowden-trained first emergency Great Esteem getting a run from barrier one with a very light 51.5kg thanks to the claim of Kayla Nisbet. The favourite is the stablemate Nancy ($3.30) who Sam Clipperton rides on 54kg, the consistent Big Brown mare coming off a Group 3 Newcastle Newmarket Handicap (1350m) second from March 19 at Rosehill.
