In a titanic battle between youth and experience Gai Waterhouse will put two of her stable stars up against each other on the 2013 Canterbury Stakes on Saturday, but can dual champion More Joyous hold off crack colt Pierro for the win?

Of the 10 top gallopers engaged in this year’s $350,000 Group 1 Canterbury Stakes (1300m) it is Waterhouse’s ace three-year-old Pierro, who boasts a flawless five from five record at Rosehill Gardens, who is top fancy at $2.30 through bookmaker.com.au.

Hot on their heels at $3.30 in the Canterbury Stakes odds is then Waterhouse’s eight-time Group 1 winning More Than Ready mare More Joyous.

While Pierro boasts the weight advantage and the fitness edge there’s still plenty to like on the more mature mare, More Joyous racing first-up here.

One of the greats last Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival with four straight wins including the Doncaster Mile the six-year-old races for the first time since her disappointing 11^th in the Cox Plate where Pierro ran an eye-catching third behind Ocean Park.

Based on that run alone it seems the scales are tipped in Pierro’s favour for their rematch in the Canterbury, but don’t discount More Joyous just yet.

She’s a genuine turf star with a super consistent record and she has won the past two editions of the Canterbury Classic.

So can More Joyous reign supreme once again?

#7 More Joyous – Horse Form

• Barrier: 4
• Jockey: Nash Rawiller
• Trainer: Gai Waterhouse
• Owners: Strawberry Hill Stud
• Age: 6YO
• Gender: Mare
• Breeding: by More Than Ready out of Sunday Joy
• Career: 30-21-0-2
• Win: 70%
• Place: 76.76%
• Last 6: x1140x
• Prize Money: $4,490,450
• Track: 14-11-0-1
• Distance: 2-2-0-0
• Current 2013 Canterbury Stakes Odds: $3.30

Yes – More Joyous Can Become a Triple Canterbury Stakes Winner

• She’s the most experienced in Group 1 company in this field
• Boasts eight Group 1 victories of her own
• Dual defending champion in this race
• Won this first-up last autumn and is fresh again here
• Also won at Rosehill over 1200m in the Sheraco Stakes first-up during the Spring so resuming is no issue
• Comes off back-to-back trial wins from February
• Will get a gun run from barrier four and stable’s ace jockey Nash Rawiller is on her once again
• Winner of an incredible 21 of her 30 starts to date giving her the second best Win Rate of the field with 70% trailing only Pierro (81.82%)
• Also has a top Place Percentage of 57.67% which is the fourth best in this field
• Awesome record at Rosehill (14-11-0-1) and is unbeaten over the distance (2-2-0-0)
• Highest earner of the field with close to $4.5 million in prize money

No – More Joyous Won’t Win the Canterbury Stakes 2013

• Gives away the fitness advantage to #10 Pierro ($2.40) and #3 Moment Of Change ($4.40) who both come off good autumn runs
• Needs to beat Pierro who got the better of her by eight places in the Cox Plate when they first clashed

Whichever horse you’re backing in the Canterbury Stakes this weekend make sure you lock them in at the best price by betting online with bookmaker.com.au – home of the exclusive Pick Your Own Odds markets on all the autumn majors.