This Saturday at Caulfield Racecourse’s Guineas Day an elite line-up of Group races will take place including the $350,000 Group 1 Toorak Handicap (1600m).
The 2010 David Jones Toorak Handicap has drawn a final field of 15 spring stars lead by the hot favourite More Joyous.
Opening at the top of the betting markets at Sportsbet, Gai Waterhouse’s glamour mare More Joyous is currently paying $2.20 to win the Toorak following a brilliant spring to date.
Four-year-old More Than Ready mare More Joyous has won all three of her starts this season with success in the Sheraco Stakes, Theo Marks Stakes and then left her rivals behind in the Group 1 George Main Stakes at Randwick last Saturday.
Drawn in barrier 10, More Joyous is due to be ridden by Nash Rawiller on Saturday, the only things hampering her chances of maintaining her spring clean sweep is her hefty 58kg weight allocation and first look at a Victorian track.
If More Joyous wins on Saturday, she will set a new weight record for mares in the Toorak Handicap, surpassing Ripa who carried 57.5kg to victory back in 1965, and will also be the first horse in history to take out the George Main Stakes – Toorak Handicap double in the same year.
Just three other Toorak Handicap entries are at single figure odds at Sportsbet with Spacecraft ($5.50), Drumbeats ($6) and Response ($9).
The Mick Price-trained Galileo four-year-old Spacecraft has been in excellent form coming off three consecutive wins but will start out wide from barrier 13.
Drumbeats is better placed to cause an upset in barrier seven, the Peter Snowden-trained five-year-old impressive last Saturday at Randwick winning the Bill Ritchie Handicap.
The other horse getting some money come in for them to win the Toorak is Response who is at peak fitness.
The Mathew Ellerton and Simon Zahra-trained mare has placed twice at Group level in the Cockram and Let’s Elope Stakes before flying to victory in the Group 1 Rupert Clark Stakes at Caulfield.
Mixing it with open company and More Joyous on Saturday, however, may see Response slightly outclassed but she still looks a top Place bet at Sportsbet.
Other notable runners in the Toorak Handicap field include Macau galloper Luen Yat Forever in their Australian debut drawn in barrier two, Peter Moody’s quality mare Ghostmilk also drawn well with gate three and last year’s Toorak winner Allez Wonder back to defend their title.
The 2010 David Jones Toorak Handicap is scheduled as Race 6 at Caulfield on Saturday and is due to jump at 12:30pm (AEDST).
For the best odds on the Toorak and the other Caulfield features including the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m) and Group 1 Yalumba Stakes (2000m) visit Sportsbet today and join the country’s leading online bookmaker!
2010 Toorak Handicap Final Field, Barrier Draw & Odds
| # | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Br. | Weight (kg) | Hcp. Rating | Odds* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MORE JOYOUS (NZ) | Gai Waterhouse | Nash Rawiller | 10 | 58 | 116 | 2.20 |
| 2 | DRUMBEATS | Peter Snowden | Mark Zahra | 7 | 56 | 105 | 6.00 |
| 3 | LA ROCKET | Dale Sutton | Stephen Baster | 9 | 56 | 105 | 51.00 |
| 4 | GOLD SALUTE | Mark Riley | Mark Pegus | 12 | 55.5 | 104 | 51.00 |
| 5 | KIDNAPPED | Peter Snowden | Craig Newitt | 1 | 55.5 | 104 | 61.00 |
| 6 | LUEN YAT FOREVER | Pou Choi | Dwayne Dunn | 2 | 55.5 | 104 | 41.00 |
| 7 | SPACECRAFT | Mick Price | Damien Oliver | 13 | 55.5 | 104 | 5.50 |
| 8 | POOR JUDGE | Norm Hilton | Darren Gauci | 15 | 55 | 102 | 31.00 |
| 9 | CHASM | Heath Conners | Brad Rawiller | 14 | 54.5 | 101 | 11.00 |
| 10 | RESPONSE | Mathew Ellerton & Simon Zahra | Craig Williams | 11 | 54.5 | 107 | 9.00 |
| 11 | ALLEZ WONDER | Bart Cummings | Michelle Payne | 8 | 53.5 | 103 | 26.00 |
| 12 | AVIENUS | Mark Webb | Glen Boss | 5 | 53 | 100 | 21.00 |
| 13 | GHOSTMILK (IRE) | Peter G Moody | Luke Nolen | 3 | 53 | 100 | 31.00 |
| 14 | NO JURISDICTION | Danny O’Brien | James Winks | 4 | 53 | 91 | 81.00 |
| 15 | WE’RE GONNA ROCK | Mark Kavanagh | Michael Rodd | 6 | 53 | 82 | 26.00 |
*Odds correct at time of publication – check Sportsbet for updates
