After a gritty upset win in the a Melbourne Cup Day Group feature, Max Hinton’s Invincible Spirit mare Sophie’s Spirit will seek back-to-back black-type success when they line-up in the $100,000 Listed Summoned Stakes (1500m) at Sandown’s Zipping Classic Day on Saturday.
Divorces will wear the No. 1 saddlecloth in the 2011 Summoned Stakes at Sandown on Saturday
Going out as a 25-1 shot in the Group 3 Herald Sun Stakes (1400m) at Flemington last Tuesday, five-year-old Sophie’s Spirit put in a spirited to run to hold on and defeat Little Surfer Girl by a nose with Divorces a half-length away third.
The victory was the fifth of her 25-start career and first at stakes level, Hinton hopeful Sophie’s Spirit can reproduce her form for the 2011 Summoned Stakes on Saturday.
Drawn ideally in barrier four of 14, Sophie’s Spirit rises from 53kg to 57.5kg and will be ridden by Nash Rawiller for the first time.
Twelve months ago John Thompson’s Shamardal mare Happy Hippy backed up from a second place finish in the Herald Sun Stakes to win the Summoned Stakes.
While this year’s Herald Sun Stakes runner-up is not backing up in the Summoned, Peter Snowden’s third placed Divorces is.
Equal 57.5kg topweight of the field with Sophie’s Spirit, Domesday four-year-old Divorces resumed after a five month break with her close finish on Cup Day and moving up to 1500 metres second-up will be a strong force on Saturday, they must however overcome the far outside gate 14.
Other notable Summoned Stakes hopefuls this year include the John Gunning-trained Hi Belle in barrier three with Craig Williams to ride, Colin and Cindy Alderson’s Herald Sun Stakes fourth-placegetter Miss Bindi in barrier one and Sensational Report who comes off a strong four length win over 1312 metres at Geelong last Saturday.
In-form Clangalang five-year-old Hi Belle is sure to be one of the top selections in the Summoned Stakes odds at Luxbet with her strong form this season.
After winning a mile showdown at Bairnsdale in September Hi Belle travelled to the city and claimed a final-stride win in the Listed Race-Tech Classic (1600m) before finishing a close second to Ocean Challenger in the Group 3 Trojan Hand Tools Stakes (1600m) at Moonee Valley on Cox Plate Day last-start.
See below for the full Summoned Stakes field, barriers and jockeys.
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2011 Summoned Stakes Final Field & Barrier Draw
Sandown Race 9 – 12/11/2011
| # | Form (Last 10) | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | Hcp. Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0X324134X3 | DIVORCES | Peter Snowden | Kerrin McEvoy | 14 | 57.5kg | 95 |
| 2 | 6X07319261 | SOPHIE’S SPIRIT | Max Hinton | Nash Rawiller | 4 | 57.5kg | 92 |
| 3 | 4214X27112 | HI BELLE | John Gunning | Craig Williams | 3 | 56.5kg | 95 |
| 4 | X140116X10 | HINEMOA (NZ) | Michael Moroney | Ms Lisa Cropp | 7 | 56.5kg | 91 |
| 5 | 1365X14974 | MISS BINDI (NZ) | Colin & Cindy Alderson | Dwayne Dunn | 1 | 54kg | 87 |
| 6 | 1X0111X758 | LIMEROCK | Peter G Moody | Luke Nolen | 12 | 54kg | 82 |
| 7 | 21243065X0 | DASOUDI (NZ) | Darren Weir | Michael Walker | 5 | 54kg | 92 |
| 8 | 49X76774X2 | MAQUINA | Robbie Laing | Brenton Avdulla (late alt) | 9 | 54kg | 72 |
| 9 | 2302321X75 | MAYNEDA STRATEGY | Trent Pennuto | Jordan Mallyon (a) | 6 | 54kg | 77 |
| 10 | 2X160X329 | SUSSURO | Tony Noonan | Nicholas Hall | 13 | 54kg | 82 |
| 11 | 6245X79231 | SENSATIONAL REPORT | Dianne Wynne | Ms Sally Wynne | 2 | 54kg | 70 |
| 12 | 32X7035301 | CROWN GEM (NZ) | Dave Enright | Dean Yendall | 11 | 54kg | 70 |
| 13 | 1X217 | YAVANNA | Anthony Freedman | Mark Zahra | 10 | 54kg | 72 |
| 14 | 6X6440X21 | BLUE EYED JANE | Mark Riley | Chris Symons | 8 | 54kg | 62 |
