The Autumn carnival has crept up on us, but it is now well and truly underway and there are plenty of Group races to get stuck into at Caulfield on Saturday.
We’ve taken a look at all nine races on the card here and offered our betting suggestions.
Thousand Wishes has managed to win three of her 11 race starts to date and is racing very consistently of late. She won two in a row before a narrow second behind Power Dream at Flemington last start in the same grade that she is attempting again here on Saturday. The inside barrier is only an advantage and with even luck, I think she can go extremely close yet again.
Cassius has the benefit of having two runs already at the 1600m under the belt heading into this event and this might prove a big advantage for the Sebring gelding. His last start win at The Valley was very professional when he circled the field and drove away from the rest of the field to score by just under a length. This is his first go at Caulfield however the Hayes stable has this guy firing and he will be tough to beat from the inside draw.
This again looks a very winnable race for High Bridge who, as a nine year old, is possibly racing in career best form at the minute. There is no doubting his fitness going into this race and I don’t see any other horse in the race that has the credentials to knock him off. Anything over even money looks overs and I’m making the Chris Waller trained horse my best of the day.
I have quite an opinion of Elite Legacy and I think the five year old chestnut can progress to a better grade of racing than this. He got to the front a little early at his second run from a spell down the Flemington straight last start and really felt the 59.5kgs he was asked to carry there. He will appreciate the drop down in weight and I think he is better suited to Caulfield. He has drawn perfectly in barrier three and although this is a tough race with plenty of horses, I think he represents good each way value.
There is not much form to go on in the feature race of the day for the young ones however Aryaaf’s debut win at Group 3 level looks superior to anything that any other horse in the race has done to date. The time she ran over the 1000m at Flemington was much quicker to that run by Ideas Man which is the other horse in the market. We know just how well the Hayes, Hayes and Dabernig stable produces these two year old’s for these early Autumn races and unless one of the debutants are special or something takes a huge step forward, she is the obvious choice for mine.
The top two in the market have very similar formlines having the early part of their career in England. Both have one run under their belt in Australia however it is hard to ignore Just Benjamin’s first up run. He was last rounding the bend at Caulfield over the 1600m and once he found the outside he rattled home to finish on the heels of the winner. He is much better suited over a distance and although this is not his ideal distance, he should be very close to winning. I think he has a very bright future and will measure up in Group racing by the end of the Autumn.
This is a very interested edition of the Group 3 Neds Manfred Stakes and to be fair it is always a cracking race. The two obvious choices are the top two in the weights and I’m leaning toward Dalasan over the Caulfield Guineas winner in Super Seth, ever so slightly. Dalasan actually meets Super Seth better at the weight for having beaten him in the Danehill early last prep over this same distance. Craig Williams jumps aboard the colt for the first time since the VRC Sires’ last Autumn and he will get all the favours from barrier three.
Miss Leonidas is a very well put together mare who went to a new level last prep, culminating in a Group 2 win at Caulfield at her last run. The lightly raced five year old daughter of I Am Invincible has a good first up record and is a 1000m specialist. She has drawn perfectly in barrier five with Joe Bowditch in the saddle and there is no reason she can’t continue winning at this level.
I’m confident that the five year old gelding Never Again can finish our day on a winning note in the last race of the day here. He has managed to win five of his 17 race starts to date and his last start second behind Reflectivity was full of merit. He has drawn well in barrier six and Ben Melham will be steering.