Horse Racing

After scoring back-to-back wins at Oakbank in just two days last week, the Leon MacDonald and Andrew Gluyas-trained mare Tobouggie Woogie is back at Morphettville this weekend looking for an Adelaide quartet.

A five-year-old daughter of Tobougg out of Royal Academy mare Regal Flute, Tobouggie Woogie is on a three race winning streak.

Having won the Little Heroes Foundation (1400m) on April 2, she continued her success with a win in the Mix 102.3 Handicap (1400m) on April 23 from which she backed up just two days later from to take out the Gallipoli Handicap (1400m) by a neck over Roccin Jo on Anzac Day.

All three recent wins have been at Adelaide’s Oakbank track and on Sunday Tobouggie Woogie will return to her home course at Morphettville to run in the $200,000 Group 3 RA Lee Stakes (1600m).

There were 17 final acceptors for this year’s RA Lee Stakes, with Tobouggie Woogie set to jump from barrier seven with Simon Price booked for the ride.

It will be the first time Price has partnered with Tobouggie Woogie since riding her to victory in a Class 2 Handicap at Balaklava in February of 2009.

The biggest danger to Tobouggie Woogie and the likely RA Lee Stakes favourite is the Greg Eurell-trained Red Colossus from Cranbourne.

The four-year-old Testa Rossa gelding was in great form first-up on April 23 winning the Group 3 Victoria Handicap (1400m) at Caulfield, Red Colossus having run an extremely close second to Kidnapped when beaten by a half-neck in the SA Derby here 12 months ago.

“It was a super effort today and he will be much more competitive when he gets over more ground,” Eurell said of Red Colossus after the Victoria Handicap win.

A good run in the RA Lee Stakes this weekend and Eurell will plan a Brisbane Winter Carnival campaign for the galloper with the $500,000 Group 1 Doomben Cup (1600m) on May 21 shaping up as the likely target.

“The Doomben Cup and those sort of races should be pretty suitable for him,” Eurell said.

“Hopefully he can get into some of these cups with a light weight.

“He’s been to Adelaide so you know he can travel.

“No matter where you go he’ll blend in – he’s the right product to take away.”

On Sunday Red Colossus wills start from a difficult barrier 16 draw with Chris Symons maintain his association with the horse.

Also lining up in the RA Lee Stakes on Sunday is the David Jolly-trained duo of Goon Serpent and Budriguez.

Drawn ideally in barrier two, four-year-old Reset mare Goon Serpent comes off a strong win in the Group 2 Queen of the South Stakes (1600m) at Morphettville on April 16.

Having won at Group level over the RA Lee Stakes track and distance, Goon Serpent has genuine claims on Sunday and trainer Jolly holds a high opinion of the mare.

“We’ve always liked her,” Jolly said.

“She’s a lovely mare but has been very immature so we’ve given her plenty of time.”

Of her Queen of the South Stakes win, a race she only just gained a start in having been called up as an emergency, Jolly was also impressed.

“We set her for the race so were lucky enough to just sneak in,” he said of the Queen of the South.

“But once she made the field it didn’t surprise me to see her win.”

Goon Serpent’s stablemate and rival on Sunday, Al Maher gelding Budriguez, also comes into the RA Lee on the back of some eye-catching runs.

After winning the Listed City Of Adelaide Handicap (1400m) at Morphettville on April 9 by an easy three lengths, Budriguez most recent finished a close third to Red Colossus in the Victoria Handicap.

Three other last start winners are also among the RA Lee Stakes field with the Mark Kavanagh-trained War Ends drawn on the rails and set to be ridden by champion hoop Corey Brown, Blevic gelding Exalted Brother (barrier five) looking for their third straight win and the Darren Weir-trained Testa Rossa mare Sublimity (barrier four) who has apprentice jockey Jake Noonan booked for the ride.

Sublimity was originally heading towards a start in the $100,000 Listed Centaurea Stakes (2004m) also running at Morphettville on Sunday, but her blistering three length win in the W.J. Bill Adams Handicap (1400m) at Caulfield last start earned her a run in a Group race.

The 2011 RA Lee Stakes is one of three Group features on the Morphettville Super Sunday racecard along with the $350,000 Group 1 The Goodwood (1200m) and the $350,000 Group 1 SA Derby (2500m).

2011 RA Lee Stakes Final Field & Barrier Draw