It doesn’t get much of a run in a week dominated by the Coolmore Classic, Alister Clark Night and that $5 million donkey race at HQ, but the Group 3 Kembla Grange Classic (1600m) will be run and won on Friday afternoon and there’s a first four to be found.
A pretty clear top pick for mine and if Pohutukawa wins, she’ll deliver Godolphin a rare black type victory. A sigh of relief for James Cummings, who must really be struggling at the moment.
Check out our 2019 Kembla Grange Classic tips below.
She mapped as the winner in the Group 1 Surround Stakes two weeks ago and while she couldn’t deliver, she’ll appreciate this giant leap back into Group 3 company. Because I don’t want to keep trying to type that name, the Medaglia D’oro filly was enormous first-up in the Light Fingers and anything close to that effort would see her winning this by lengths. James McDonald takes the ride again and with even luck, the horse will be hard to hold out.
This filly is yet to run a bad race and Mark Newnham’s horses are absolutely flying. Scarlet Dream stamped herself as a horse to follow with three excellent efforts in lower grades last time in, and she was unlucky not to make it three wins in a row when she resumed for an agonizingly-close second two weeks ago. Obviously, this is her sternest test to date, but she looks up to it.
I’ll happily claim this horse as family if she rounds out my trifecta. Sister Sledge has been allocated a pretty tough barrier, but her two runs this time in have been outstanding and she’ll only improve third-up and at a mile. Gai Waterhouse seemingly knows how to prepare a racehorse, so there’s also that.
The filly has promised plenty and certainly this time, has not delivered. Her races have typically been harder than this one, though and third-up she might be ready to do something. She was an easy winner in her only other appearance at a mile and while I might be getting caught in that old Frankel trap again, she’s definitely looking for the trip.