All eyes will be on The Valley on Friday night when 2019 Australia Stakes Night kicks off a huge weekend of racing.
Some of the country’s best sprinters will be on show in the Group 2 Australia Stakes (1200m) including Brave Smash, Redkirk Warrior and Land Of Plenty, but there’s eight winners to be found in total and plenty of value on offer in betting.
Australia Stakes Night will officially begin with the running of a two-year-old maiden race at 6:30pm AEDT, while the feature is slated to jump at 9:30pm.
A capacity field of two-year-olds will step out in the first and of the twelve runners, seven will be making their competitive debuts.
The Godolphin-trained Auxin has opened race favourite after running well for third behind talented stable mate Microphone on debut a fortnight ago, but he has drifted $4.70 out to $5 at publish.
There is simply too much that can happen in these races full of debutants and I am happy to wait for another day.
Seven stayers have been set for the second and betting suggests that nearly all are live chances.
I’m happy to take on early favourite The Gatting Ball ($3.30) here – he has been running well but has proven himself to be a bit of a non-winner and will need to improve to beat Prinz Hlodowig, whom he was comfortably beaten by last time out.
Prinz Hlodowig ($3.60) did take a run to tune up after a couple of months away from the track, but his last-start win was outstanding, and he looks well placed to go on with the job here. The Rajsaman gelding can go forward in this small field and will be tough to beat.
A pretty open field of three-year-olds has been taken for the Gold Carat and there is a case to be made for a few.
Columbus Circle ($2.70) only made one appearance at the races so far but stamped himself as a horse to follow with a dominant win in a maiden race at Caulfield. This is a step up in class and I’d prefer to see him do it before backing him again, particularly as favourite.
Beerz With Clint ($5) enjoys racing at The Valley and could prove to be the value here at his current price. The son of Written Tycoon won by nearly five lengths at this track and distance two starts back before hitting the line well for a close second at Flemington last weekend.
This looks like being one of the better contests on the Australia Stakes card and good value around a number of runners in this field.
Makahu Boy ($4.50) has returned to racing in excellent form this time and should only be improving third-up into this race. The Churchill Downs gelding resumed with an easy win at Werribee last month before he was edged out late at this track and distance last time out. Enver Jusufovic’s horses are running well of late and Makahu Boy is drawn well (barrier 6) to find clear passage to the lead.
These short and sharp sprints at The Valley are always exciting and ten horses have been confirmed for this race.
I’m happy to be with the favourite here, Freeze Over ($3.20). The Ellerton & Zahra-trained four-year-old took up the running at this track and distance two starts back and never appeared in doubt, extending in the straight score an easy win. Her run for third last time out was fair, but a return to this trip is ideal and she’ll give them something to chase.
At publish we’re looking at $6 the field for this one and it looms as a great opportunity to take advantage of some genuine each-way value.
The Paul Preusker-trained Surprise Baby ($17) has won two from three starts since debuting and while he does face a tough task here, he looks good enough to fight out the finish at a great price. The Shocking gelding was crying out for more ground when he finished fifth behind Indian Thunder at Stawell and his wide draw on Friday isn’t an issue as he tends to settle off the pace.
Ten sprinters have been confirmed and we’re set for one of the best editions of the Australia Stakes in recent memory.
Brave Smash ($6) won the Manikato Stakes at this track and distance in spring and has a genuine class edge over most of these horses. He did fail to fire as a short favourite in this race last year but has clearly improved since then and is worth consideration at his current price.
Darren Weir will be offered four genuine chances in this race after also confirming the in-form Whispering Brook ($3.70), Group 1 winner Land Of Plenty ($4.80) and Fifty Stars ($17) in the field.
It’s tough to predict how Redkirk Warrior ($8) will run here, but the three-time Group 1 winner is clearly up to winning a race of this calibre, while Fell Swoop ($8) has been racing well this time and typically performs to a high standard here at The Valley.
In what looks a genuine dartboard, I’ll be happy to have something on Brave Smash each-way.
The resuming Greyworm has opened as the $2.70 favourite in betting for the last on Friday night and is a proven first-up performer, having broken his maiden at Mornington on debut in June. His two subsequent efforts at Caulfield and Sandown were excellent and he should find pretty easy passage to the lead here from barrier 7. If he brings any of the ability that he showed during his debut prep to the track here, he should be too good for his rivals.