The Group 1 George Main Stakes is the feature event of the day at Randwick on Saturday however there is plenty of quality racing available to punters.
The Group 2 Shorts may steal the show with some of the best sprinters in the country on display. They are headlined by two time Everest winner Redzel.
Our thoughts on all nine races can be found below.
Caccini has been racing consistently of late and was an impressive winner at this track two back. She overcome a bad barrier that day and she has a good record on the heavy going.
This is another tricky race but I’m happy to be with Lisdoonvarna at a nice price. She has a good record on the heavy going and I thought she worked right through the line first up and she will only improve on that effort.
Junipal has been up for quite a while so you know the horse is plenty fit. His win at The Valley was very impressive before having to lump 60kg last time out. He will appreciate the drop in weight for this and should be there abouts yet again. Good in the rain effected going as well.
Libertini is a such a strong and powerful filly who clearly has a huge Spring in store and she will be tough to beat again. I have a big opinion of the Anaheed and although she may not be up to winning at Group 1 level, she is more than capable of running a race here.
Avantage is a lightly raced four year old mare who comes over from New Zealand with some very good form. Her two runs in Sydney during the Autumn produced a win before she ran a nice third behind the classy Classique Legend. She is a horse on the rise and should be right in a race of this quality.
He just keeps on winning doesn’t he? He is on his way to a third Everest and if his first up win is anything to go by, he will give it another shake. The rain effected track only helps and he can shoot out from the inside barrier and set the tempo yet again.
I am one of the many that have been stung by Avilius in his two runs this prep. When assessing his two runs objectively however, both have been full of merit. The leader bias in the Chelmsford at Randwick two weeks ago was enormous and I think he worked home well to run second. The mile again is just short of his distance but with a little bit of extra pace in this race than the Chelmsford, he should be seen running over them late.
I thought Finche’s return to the races in the Chelmsford was full of merit as the chestnut gelding just kept finding all the way to the line. He ran a brilliant 6th in the in the Melbourne Cup last year and he looks on target for another tilt at our greatest race. He can start with a win here.
You Make Me Smile has attempted to jump into Group racing and whilst he may not quite be up to that level, I am convinced he is better than this grade. He handled the heavy going well last start when narrowly denied and I think he is overs again.