A smart and capacity field has been confirmed for Saturday’s Group 1 Rosehill Guineas (2000m) and we are set for an open race from a betting perspective.
Ace High has performed extremely well under less-than ideal conditions this time and he is a worthy occupant of the top line of Rosehill Guineas betting at Fat Odds of $5.25 (at the time of publish).
Ace High experienced a meteoric rise to prominence during the 2017 Autumn Carnival; breaking his maiden status at Kembla Grange in late July and eventually ending his preparation with consecutive wins in the Group 3 Gloaming Stakes (1800m), Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) and Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m).
The son of High Chaparral worked home well to finish fifth in the Group 2 Expressway Stakes (1200m) first-up and has since placed fifth in the Group 2 Hobartville Stakes (1400m) and fourth in the Group 1 Randwick Guineas (1600m).
A step up to 2000m is ideal and jockey Tye Angland will likely take a position behind the pace from his central draw in the Rosehill Guineas.
The lion’s share of money has so-far come for consistent Darren Weir-trained gelding Cliff’s Edge, who is $11 into $9.50 since the field was confirmed on Wednesday morning.
Cliff’s Edge was another horse who quickly rose to prominence during the spring and won the lucrative Group 3 Caulfield Classic (2000m) before finishing second in the Group 2 Moonee Valley Vase (2040m) and sixth amongst open company in the Group 1 Emirates Stakes (2000m).
The Canford Cliffs colt stamped himself as a horse to follow through the Autumn Carnival when he resumed for a smart win in the Group 3 Manfred Stakes (1200m) on February 3rd and followed up the performance a close second behind subsequent Group 1 winner Grunt in the Group 3 CS Hayes Stakes (1400m).
Cliff’s Edge faded in the late stages of the Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m) before finishing seventh on March 3rd, but returned to winning form via a dominant performance in the Group 2 Alister Clarke Stakes (2040m) at Moonee Valley a fortnight later.
2000m also looks-to-be Cliff’s Edge’s pet distance and he’ll give them something to chase again from the rails draw in the Rosehill Guineas.
Vin De Dance will make his Australian debut in the Rosehill Guineas, but the classy colt posted an impressive Group 1 win in his native New Zealand a fortnight ago and looks to be over the odds at his current $11 quote.
The Roc De Cambes gelding has been a strong and consistent performer throughout his entire racing career so far and will take a credible record of two wins and four minors from only nine starts into the Rosehill Guineas.
Resuming in January for fourth in a 1400m race at Pukekohe, Vin De Dance steadily came to hand and weathered a tough run in transit in the Group 2 Avondale Stakes (2100m) on February 17th, but still managed to finish third.
The three-year-old was sent off a $10 shot in the Group 1 New Zealand Derby (2400m) most recently and took an ideal position in transit on the heels of the early leaders, before producing a smart turn of foot in the final straight.
Gingernuts completed the New Zealand Derby/Rosehill Guineas double in 2017 and Vin De Dance shouldn’t find the step back in distance too dissatisfactory on Saturday.