The Hawkesbury Gold Cup meeting is always a sensational one and although it will take place at Rosehill this year because of Covid-19 and travel restrictions, it looks a cracker!
We have previewed all eight races on the card and we have offered our thoughts below.
The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable is low-key flying right now and I’m than happy to be with their last start winner here in Formentera. Tim Clark can boot the I Am Invincible colt up onto the speed from barrier seven and I think he’ll be in it for a long way.
Laure Me In is a horse that can mix his form however he has performed well in this grade in the past and he does look well placed here. This is his first go at the 2000m, but he looks like the step up in distance will not worry him.
Word For Word contested the 1400m first up at Warwick Farm and she found the line nicely to run fourth beaten 4.1 lengths. She was narrowly denied at Listed level at both the Sunshine and Gold Coast this time last year and she will take plenty of improvement from her first up run. Barrier five and Glen Boss are both positives.
Multaja has been threatening at this level for a period now and the four year old mare can take the next level this prep. I like the fact that she has had two trials leading into this assignment and she looks ready to perform first up. She has managed five wins from her 18 race starts and although she has drawn a tricky gate she gets the advantage of James McDonald steering.
All Too Royal has been a beauty for connections having won eight of his 19 race starts over his career. After winning the Listed Xmas Stakes on Boxing Day he backed that up by running third behind Bold Star at Flemington. His last run produced a fourth in the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate behind Pippie and has been freshened up for this assignment. He has an exceptional record when racing fresh and he has already been backed in from $7.00 into $6.00. Glen Boss is a plus.
Icebath is an exciting filly and she looks really well placed in the Group 3 Hawkesbury Guineas. She was beaten by less than a length in the Kembla Grange Classic over the 1600m and that race has turned out to be a hot form race. It was a horrible watch last start at Randwick at Listed level when Jason Collett found all sorts of problems in the straight however I was impressed with the way she picked back up and found the line. She gets the weight relief off the boys including meeting Indy Car 3kg better than their last meeting.
This is a very difficult edition of the Hawkesbury Gold Cup with many different formlines to consider. I have a lot of time for the four year old mare Aliferous who has been racing consistently this time in. She has two seconds and two fourths to her name from four runs and although I think she is better suited to 2000m, she can run a race at nice odds.
This is a tricky way to finish the day and whichever way you are playing I wish you the very best of luck. Segalas has been racing well this prep and is yet to miss the placings in three runs. He has won four times in his 14 race career including his only start at the 1300m.