Saturday’s simulcast program from the final day of the VRC’s four-day Flemington Melbourne Cup carnival features two A$1 million races, the G1 Darley Classic (1200m) and the G1 Emirates Stakes (1600m) - both of which may have an impact on December’s LONGINES Hong Kong International Races.
Three of four Australian entries for the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint - Chautauqua, Terravista and Srikandi will run in Saturday’s feature sprint down the straight 1200 metres course while the Emirates Stakes field includes G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile entrants Bow Creek and Ecuador.
Chautauqua is the favourite for the Darley Classic after three wins from as many starts this season and his spectacular last to first victory in the G1 Manikato Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on 23 October. “Hong Kong’s been on the radar since early in the year and we just need to see him run well again on Saturday and there’s no reason why he shouldn’t,” said co-trainer Wayne Hawkes.
While Chautauqua is certainly entitled to be the top rated runner in Saturday’s sprint, he won’t necessarily have it all his own way. He started favourite last year but was beaten a head into second place by regular rival Terravista whose seventh place finish in the Manikato Stakes is best overlooked as he was blocked for a clear run on that occasion.
The Manikato Stakes runner-up Srikandi will again be competitive on Saturday along with another mare Lumosty, who won first-up at Caulfield; and the evergreen Buffering, who won the race in 2013 and who was sixth behind Aerovelocity in last year’s Hong Kong Sprint, will also take his place in the field.
The Emirates Stakes is likely to prove one of the most competitive races of the Melbourne spring carnival and will provide an opportunity for at least two trainers to add a bonus to the rich spoils already garnered in the last month.
Ballarat trainer Darren Weir, fresh from his remarkable Melbourne Cup win with 100/1 chance Prince Of Penzance, saddles up Lucky Hussler who was runner-up in the race last year while the Caulfield Cup winning trainer Murray Baker has the bold front-runner Turn Me Loose engaged.
The two horses met last start with Turn Me Loose leading throughout, on a track favouring leaders, to take the G2 Crystal Mile (1600m) at Moonee Valley on 24 October while Lucky Hussler finished third after being caught wide in the less desirable part of the track. They were split by the John O’Shea trained Bow Creek who was having his first run in Australia.
Bow Creek, the 2014 Celebration Mile (G2) winner at Goodwood in the UK, will come on from his first outing in Victoria. “He’s done really well and we like the horse. I’d expect him to be very competitive again on Saturday and we can think about Hong Kong. I would love to have a runner there one of these days,” O’Shea said.
