Saturday's simulcast meeting of day two of The Championships, at Randwick in Sydney, will not only see star jockeys Joao Moreira and Zac Purton again in action on Australian soil but also sees Hong Kong's top stayer Dominant contest the Group 1 Sydney Cup at 3200 metres.
Possible AP QEII Cup contenders Criterion and Red Cadeaux will also be on show as they take on a star-studded field in the A$ 4 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes - one of four Group 1 races on the program.
Dominant, the 2013 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase winner, faces strong opposition in Melbourne Cup winner Protectionist and the BMW winner Hartnell in the A$ 1.6 million Sydney Cup but has acclimatised well in Sydney and will appreciate the rise in trip on his Australian debut fifth in the G1 Ranvet Stakes (2000m) on 21 March.
Damien Oliver was aboard on that occasion as Joao Moreira was required at the Sha Tin meeting but the Brazilian rides Dominant this weekend. “Joao knows him well and we've got him down to Sydney to take the reins and bring some of that magic,” said trainer John Moore.
Early markets in Australia have Dominant fourth in the betting order, at 10/1, behind Hartnell, Who Shot Thebarman (third in last year's Melbourne Cup) and Protectionist but those odds are likely to shorten if the rain stays away and the track dries out by Saturday. The forecast is for little more than a few showers leading into the weekend.
Criterion, third behind Designs On Rome in the 2014 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup, is one horse who won't mind if the track remains soft, as it was for day one of The Championships on Monday, as he prepares for the 2000 metres Queen Elizabeth.
“I'm happy with him,” said trainer David Hayes, “he has been slowly away in some races but we've used the barrier blanket on him and that's helped. He's up to his best trip now and a soft track would be perfect for him. I am starting to get excited about his prospects.”
Royal Descent, like Criterion, is competent on top of the ground but a soft track would also be a plus for her as she backs up from Monday's G1 third place in the Doncaster Mile and Moreira will again be on board. “Joao said she felt great in the run and she pulled up good so we’re happy with her going into Saturday’s race,” trainer Chris Waller said.
A wet track would, however, be less desirable for stablemate Adelaide who has his first run for the Waller stable and his first since winning the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley in October.
“I doubt he’ll run on a heavy track but we’ll have a talk to the team on Thursday and go from there,” Waller said. “We didn’t realise how good this horse was until we galloped him on dry ground. He’s got form on slow tracks overseas but he’s much better on top of the ground.”
Other fancied Queen Elizabeth runners including the favourite Contributer, who's won four of his five starts in Australia, and the Japanese stablemates To The World and Tosen Stardom have had little exposure to rain affected ground on raceday.
The evergreen Red Cadeaux, best known for his three second place finishes in Melbourne Cups and who appears to cope with whatever conditions are thrown at him, will run also in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes rather than in the longer Sydney Cup which had seemed more likely.
“The weather has been the overriding factor in our decision, with Sydney having experienced an extremely wet week,” said trainer Ed Dunlop.
