Believe Yourself (outside) is favourite for Saturday's 2014 ATC Sires Produce. Photo: Steve Hart.
A promising field of middle distance sprinting two-year-olds are set to face off in Saturday’s 2014 ATC Inglis Sires Produce Stakes at Royal Randwick, where in an open market nearly half the field are at single figures to win.
This year’s $1 million Group 1 Inglis Sires (1400m) kicks off a quartet of Group 1 races on the Doncaster Mile Day program, the juvenlies’ feature set to run as Randwick Race 5 at 2:35pm (AEST).
There are 11 young hopefuls in the mix, five of which are under $10 to take home the $600,000 first prize for connections.
Current favourite in the ATC Sires Produce Stakes odds at $3.90 is progressive Sebring filly Believe Yourself.
Set to jump wide from barrier eight, which has produced just the one Sires Produce winner in the past 30 years, the favourite is one of four in the mix for trainer Gerald Ryan.
A winner of two of her three career starts to date, the lightly-raced Believe Yourself is out to become the 14th filly since 1983 to win the race and the fourth from her allotted gate.
In the past 10 years six ATC Sires Produce Stakes winners came via a run in the Golden Slipper Stakes one week earlier, and that is the case for Believe Yourself.
After a first-up win in the Group 2 Sweet Embrace Stakes (1200m) where she ran down the leader Twirl in the final stride to win the Randwick feature, she went to Group 1 company in the $3.5 million Golden Slipper.
She put in a gun effort too from her wide barrier 15 of 16 draw, settling last before finishing it off strongly over the final 100m to cross two lengths away fourth.
With two solid runs over the 1200m, plus getting back to Randwick, this wet track performer certainly could prove hard to beat.
Drawn nicely in barrier four with Nash Rawiller to ride, Ryan’s in-form daughter of Myboycharlie Peggy Jean is then the $4.20 second pick for the Sires Produce on Saturday.
Her latest effort was a close second when just missing out on the Group 2 Magic Night Stakes (1200m) win at Rosehill a fortnight ago.
That was run on a Heavy track which she handled well, Saturday’s Randwick meet also likely to be rain-affected.
The Magic Night form was also supported last Saturday when the winner Bring Me The Maid ran third behind Mossfun and Earthquake in the Slipper.
The other hopes under double figures are then:
- #5 Kumaon ($6.50) – Peter Snowden-trained Lonhro colt has had three runs all in Rosehill to date, first-up effort was in the Group 2 Pago Pago Stakes (1200m) on March 29 where they were defeated by a narrow margin in the mud, an effort they can improve on now having seen the distance if they get away better from the barriers
- #9 Lucky Raquie ($6.50) – Ryan’s Encosta De Lago filly won the Listed Black Opal Stakes in Canberra at the start of March in a fine performance before her fifth to Earthquake in the Group 2 Reisling Stakes last time out, she’ll improve on that having been up to the trip now and it was a good effort as she came from last to finish two and a half lengths off, also has Randwick experience having run third in the Gimcrack Stakes to Alpha Miss in her race debut last October
- #3 Time For War ($8.50) – Undefeated Snitzel colt also representing Ryan, Rosehill winner on debut in November and did it again in the Pago Pago in a performance they’ll be looking to repeat to keep their perfect record intact here
Early market mover into $10 is then the Bjorn Baker-trained Unencumbered drawn in gate two with Craig Williams riding, the Todman Stakes runner-up coming off a Golden Sipper 10th.
Following them are then David Hayes’ Fastnet Rock colt Zululand ($12) last seen winning the Group 2 Henry Bucks Sires’ Produce at Flemington in March and Mick Price’s Slipper 15th placegetter Cornrow ($14) before the race’s roughie chances.
Check out the latest fixed win ATC Sires Produce Stakes 2014 odds below, prices open now online at our preferred online bookie Ladbrokes.com.au who are rewarding new customers with a bonus welcome bet valued up to $250!