The 2010 Victoria Derby Day, the first of four feature meetings making up the iconic Melbourne Cup Carnival, will take place at Flemington this Saturday and one of the most anticipated events of the day will be the $1 million Group 1 Mackinnon Stakes (2000m).
The 2010 Longines Mackinnon Stakes has attracted a star-studded final field of 12 gallopers lead by Melbourne Cup favourites Shocking and So You Think.
Mark Kavanagh’s Street Cry five-year-old Shocking will have his final hit-out in the Mackinnon on Saturday before attempting back-to-back wins in the 2010 Melbourne Cup Tuesday week.
Expecting to perform well in the Mackinnon, Flemington track specialist Shocking has suffered a blow with another wide barrier draw, set to start from gate 11 with Michael Rodd.
Shocking ran a gallant second behind Zipping in the Turnbull Stakes at this track and distance two starts back after jumping from barrier 12, and is coming off an eye-catching fourth in the Caulfield where the champion also drew poorly with gate 10.
The other big name in the Mackinnon Stakes field is Bart Cummings’ dual Cox Plate champion So You Think.
The High Chaparral four-year-old is drawn mid-field in barrier eight attempting his eighth victory at just his 11th career start.
Shocking and So You Think are currently topping the Melbourne Cup odds paying $4.20 and $5 respectively at Luxbet, with their performances in the Mackinnon sure to affect the markets for the world’s richest handicap.
Chris Waller’s Metal Bender has secured the prized barrier one for their Mackinnon Stakes run on Saturday while AJC Derby winner Shoot Out has also drawn favourably with barrier two.
Other Melbourne Cup hopefuls lining up in the Mackinnon include the Lloyd Williams-owned C’est La Guerre (barrier seven), Caulfield Cup winner Descarado (barrier five) and Bart Cummings’ classy mare Faint Perfume (barrier nine).
A notable defector from the Mackinnon was the Jake Stephens-trained Alcopop, last year’s beaten Melbourne Cup favourite set to contest the Group 3 The Lexus Stakes (2500m) at the meeting instead seeking a win to sneak into the Melbourne Cup field.
The Mackinnon Stakes is set to run as Race 5 at Flemington on Saturday, the day’s racing proceeded by the highly anticipated 2010 Melbourne Cup Barrier Draw at 6:30pm (AEDST).
Mackinnon Stakes odds will be released at Luxbet shortly so sign up with this trusted online bookmaker now to be the first to get in on the action!
2010 Mackinnon Stakes Field, Barrier Draw & Weights
| No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SHOCKING | Mark Kavanagh | Michael Rodd | 11 | 59 |
| 2 | METAL BENDER (NZ) | Chris Waller | Hugh Bowman | 1 | 59 |
| 3 | C’EST LA GUERRE (NZ) | Robert Hickmott | Dwayne Dunn | 7 | 59 |
| 4 | GINGA DUDE (NZ) | Graeme Boyd | Michael Walker | 10 | 59 |
| 5 | RAINBOW STYLING (NZ) | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | Luke Nolen | 3 | 59 |
| 6 | SO YOU THINK (NZ) | Bart Cummings | Steven Arnold | 8 | 58 |
| 7 | DESCARADO (NZ) | Gai Waterhouse | Nash Rawiller | 5 | 58 |
| 8 | SHOOT OUT | John Wallace | Corey Brown | 2 | 58 |
| 9 | KIDNAPPED | Peter Snowden | Kerrin McEvoy | 4 | 58 |
| 10 | TRUSTING | John P Thompson | Jim Cassidy | 12 | 58 |
| 11 | RED COLOSSUS | Greg Eurell | Chris Symons | 6 | 58 |
| 12 | FAINT PERFUME | Bart Cummings | James Winks | 9 | 56 |
