Group 1 racing returns to The Valley on Friday night and the William Reid Stakes looms as one of the Autumn Carnival’s hottest contests.
Several previous winners at the highest level have been confirmed in the William Reid Stakes field of fourteen and there’s value to be found around almost every runner.
I’ve previewed the entire race and offered my complete 2021 William Reid Stakes tips below.
Suggested Bets
- 2 Units E/W #14 Swats That
- Boxed Trifecta of the selections below
Swats That has returned two decent efforts in Group 1 company since resuming and I think that she can record her first win at the highest level in the William Reid Stakes.
The Shamus Award filly has made eight trips to the races for three wins and as many placings, but she really stamped herself as one to watch when she recorded consecutive wins in Group 3 company, including the Scarborough Stakes at this track and distance, before running second in the Coolmore Stud Stakes in spring.
She finished third in the Lightning Stakes first-up this time and fifth in the Newmarket, she gets into this race well under the conditions at around the $12 mark, she looks over the odds.
The complexion of this race looks as though it will suit Hey Doc down to the ground, and he wouldn’t look out of place in the William Reid Stakes winner’s stall.
The multiple Group 1 champion has been the stable star for the McEvoys throughout an impressive racing career, and he has added another Group 1 crown to his trophy case nearly every preparation – it was the Manikato Stakes (his second) during his 2020 spring prep.
He clearly needed the run and finished down the order in Listed company at Flemington when resuming, but he is a horse that tends to enjoy sharp improvement with a run under his belt, and he certainly wouldn’t look out of place winning.
She returned a rare flat effort in the Newmarket Handicap, but we all know how good September Run can be, and I’m sure she’ll bounce back with something in the William Reid Stakes.
She couldn’t have been more impressive during her spring campaign, and she was rewarded with a well-deserved Group 1 win in the Coolmore Stud Stakes.
Her resuming effort for second, unlucky not to pip Nature Strip in the Black Caviar Lightning was arguably the run of the autumn so far, and a repeat of that would put her into the finish of this race at the very least.
Brooklyn Hustle has produced many of her better efforts at The Valley and I think that she can run a bold race in the William Reid Stakes.
The four-year-old daughter of Starspangledbanner doesn’t win out of turn, but she also rarely races poorly, and she does appear to have the makings of an elite sprinter.
She flashed home late to finish fourth, beaten just over a head in the Neds Oakleigh Plate when fresh, before returning a fair effort for eighth in the Newmarket last time.
Fitter third-up, she has each-way prospects again.