Horse Racing

Caulfield-based trainer Mick Price who prepared last year’s The Goodwood winner Velocitea has chosen not to go for back-to-back success in the Morphettville feature accepting Dubleanny for a Listed race on Sunday instead.

Dubleanny will race in the Proud Miss Stakes and not The Goodwood on Sunday

The $350,000 Group 1 The Goodwood (1200m) is the feature on a cracker Super Sunday of Racing line-up at Morphettville this year attracting a capacity field of 20 starters plus one emergency at acceptance stage today.

Having originally nominated his in-form Dubelo mare Dubleanny for the Adelaide sprint, Price has chosen to bypass The Goodwood with the four-year-old in favour of an easier assignment in the $100,000 Listed Proud Miss Stakes (1200m) at the same meeting.

A stakes winner at Flemington last year, Dubleanny is Group placed and last won the Auckland Racing Club Handicap (1200m) on April 25.

She is set to face 13 fellow fillies and mares in the Proud Miss Stakes on Sunday, jumping from barrier seven with Craig Newitt in the mount.

Other notable Proud Miss Stakes hopefuls include David Jolly’s last start winner of the Listed Oakbank Stakes Cornelia Marie (barrier 10), the Michael Trotter-trained mare Montanita coming off back-to-back wins and Mark Kavanagh’s Fusaichi Pegasus four-year-old Cat’s Pyjamas also seeking their third win on the trot from barrier 12 with Corey Brown aboard.

Meanwhile, the 2011 The Goodwood field is lead by last year’s Golden Slipper winning filly Crystal Lily.

The Mathew Ellerton and Simon Zahra-trained Stratum filly has suffered an early blow, however, drawing awkwardly with gate 11 for Sunday.

Still, without the likes of Black Caviar or Hay List to contend with, Crystal Lily will start the deserved favourite as she looks to win her first race since scoring the richest juvenile’s feature in the world as a two-year-old last April.

“She’s going to be very hard to beat in the Goodwood,” co-trained Ellerton said of Crystal Lily.

Crystal Lily’s in-form stablemate Response fared better with barrier seven and will be ridden by Dwayne Dunn.

The four-year-old Charge Forward mare earned a free pass into The Goodwood winning the Group 1 Sportingbet Classic (1200m) at Morphettville.

Last start Response came up against Crystal Lily’s nemesis Black Caviar, finishing sixth in the TJ Smith Stakes at Randwick.

Other early The Goodwood favourites with some work to do from wide barriers are the Rick Hore-Lacy-trained Show A Heart colt Toorak Toff (barrier 16), winner of the Golden Rose last year, and David Jolly’s super consistent Blevic gelding Streetcar Magic on the far outside gate.

Streetcar Magic is undefeated this prep having won both of their starts including the Group 3 DC McKay Stakes (1100m) by a mere nose ahead of Valentine Miss in mid-April.

Topweight of the field is the David Hayes-trained Hussonet five-year-old Eagle Falls, the Oakleigh Plate winner coming up with a horror barrier 19 draw and set to carry 58kg.

Horses that have come into The Goodwood contention with ideal barrier draws include Peter Moody’s Not A Single doubt four-year-old Doubtful Jack on the rails and Peter Snowden’s Lonhro gelding Pinwheel (barrier eight) who was a brave second to Streetcar Magic at this track last start.

Leading local trainer Mark Kavanagh has a strong hand in this year’s The Goodwood choosing to accept five from his stables with 2010 runner-up Catapulted (barrier three), Yallambee Classic winner Shrapnel (barrier 10), Undeniably (barrier 13), Dr Doute’s (barrier six) and Valentine Miss (barrier five).

Crystal Lily will start The Goodwood favourite for 2011

Although boasting the numbers, Kavanagh has conceded he may be running for second naming Crystal Lily as the horse to beat.

“She’s going to be mighty hard to get past,” Kavanagh said of Crystal Lily who easily trounced his top chance Shrapnel in a glittering barrier trial at Werribee last Friday.

Kavanagh also confessed to being pleased about not having to face off against Hay List in the race.

“This (The Goodwood) is a better race without Hay List in it – well, certainly a better betting proposition for punters – but she’s the one to treat seriously.”

The 2011 The Distinctive Homes Goodwood is scheduled as Race 7 at Morphettville on Sunday due to jump at 3:52pm.

2011 The Distinctive Homes Goodwood Field & Barriers