Nature Strip Heads 2020 Darley Sprint Classic Nominations & Betting

September 24, 2020

Nature Strip Heads 2020 Darley Sprint Classic Nominations & Betting

Nominations for November’s Darley Sprint Classic 2020 closed on Tuesday with Chris Waller’s defending champion Nature Strip the favourite out of the 69 early entries for the Flemington feature held on November 7.

Nature Strip Horse Form (Photo: Steve Hart) | Races.com.au

Nature Strip is nominated for a title defense in the 2020 Darley Sprint Classic at Flemington this November. Photo: Steve Hart.

One of the key spring races taking place on the last day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, this year’s Group 1 $1.5 million Darley Sprint Classic (1200m) – also known as the VRC Sprint Classic – attracted just shy of 70 hopefuls at nomination stage.

Waller has won two of the past five editions with Delectation (2015) and Nature Strip (2019), the latter entered for a shot at becoming the first back-to-back winner since the mighty Black Caviar (2010-11).

Nature Strip is joined in the Darley Sprint Classic nominations for the Waller stable by six other stablemates including perennial Group 1 runner-up Star Of The Seas, last start George Main Stakes winner Kolding, flying Sheraco Stakes winning mare Haut Brion Her and lightly-raced More Than Ready colt Global Quest.

Black Caviar’s horseman Peter Moody is back as an official trainer this spring and has thrown in a nomination for WA expat The Velvet King, a four-time placegetter in Group company at home in Perth over the winter.

Also chasing a third VRC Sprint Classic victory this decade is Peter Snowden who won in 2012 with Mental before preparing their eventual dual The Everest hero Redzel for victory in 2017 in partnership with his son Paul.

The Snowdens are dually represented in the early entries by California Zimbol and three-year-old Snitzel colt Wild Ruler.

No three-year-old has won the Darley Classic since Glamour Puss (2005) but there are 15 nominated to try and break the hoodoo in 2020.

Among the standout three-year-olds are Blue Diamond winner Tagaloa, Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott’s Golden Slipper champion Farnan, the flying Anders for Ciaron Maher & David Eustace and his gun stablemate Away Game.

Farnan is also confirmed as a runner for the world’s richest turf race, the $15 million The Everest (1200m) at Randwick on October 17, as is fellow three-year-old Darley Classic nominee Rothfire.

Rob Heathcote’s brilliant Queenslander won the Group 2 Run To The Rose first-up in emphatic fashion, the proven Group 1 horse (J.J. Atkins) now chasing a second elite level win this weekend in the Golden Rose.

Rothfire is at $10 in all-in Darley Sprint Classic odds online at Ladbrokes.com.au trailing only last year’s winner Nature Stripe ($4.20) and another of the confirmed The Everest horses for 2020 Gytrash ($5.50).

Gordon Richards’ Adelaide galloper Gytrash was brilliant first-up defeating Nature Strip by 1.5 lengths in the Group 3 Concorde Stakes (1000m) at Randwick and the duo will meet again for The Everest and VRC Sprint Classic.

Among the other standout nominations are the 2018 champion Santa Ana Lane who was unplaced as the beaten favourite last year, star of the Apple Isle The Inevitable for Scott Brunton and HQ straight track specialist Zoutori.

Darley Sprint Classic first acceptances are open until midday (local time) on Tuesday October 20, 2020.

Click here for the latest all-in 2020 Darley Sprint Classic betting markets courtesy of Ladbrokes.com.au.

2020 Darley Sprint Classic Nominations

Last 10 Horse Sex Age Trainer Hcp Rating
1 12x21111x ALFA ORO (NZ) G 5 Matt Laurie
2 0x1334x09x ALL TOO ROYAL G 6 Ciaron Maher & David Eustace
3 36x211x11x ANDERS C 3 Ciaron Maher & David Eustace
4 41114215x AWAY GAME F 3 Ciaron Maher & David Eustace
5 2x42424x1x BELLA NIPOTINA F 3 Tom Dabernig & Ben Hayes
6 152x111x1x BELLA VELLA M 6 Will Clarken
7 62x61365x3 BIVOUAC H 4 James Cummings
8 2128438×46 BOLD STAR G 5 Gordon Richards
9 55x535x13x BROOKLYN HUSTLE M 4 Jason Warren & Dean Krongold
10 2x113x310x CALIFORNIA ZIMBOL M 4 Peter & Paul Snowden
11 401411x54x CHICAGO CUB G 5 Michael Moroney
12 56x281117x DAWN PASSAGE H 4 Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott
13 2714x5465x DEPRIVE G 6 James Cummings
14 80x1111x1x DIAMOND EFFORT M 5 Clinton McDonald
15 x548111x34 DIRTY WORK H 4 Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes
16 5x2308x852 DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR G 8 Tony & Calvin McEvoy
17 11×51 DOUBTLAND C 3 Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes
18 x37x07x112 EDUARDO G 7 Joseph Pride
19 8x33280x6x EMBRACE ME (NZ) M 5 Danny O’Brien
20 568x1410x6 EXCESS FUNDS G 4 Levi Kavanagh
21 27x52x320x EXHILARATES M 4 James Cummings
22 53x1x11x1x FABERGINO M 6 Tiarnna Robertson
23 110111×5 FARNAN C 3 Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott
24 229x1823x8 FASIKA M 5 Joseph Pride
25 6117x112x1 FITUESE M 4 John Thompson
26 127x111x2 FRONT PAGE G 4 Geoff Duryea
27 21x3212x54 GARNER G 4 Gordon Richards
28 1x224x2 GLOBAL QUEST C 3 Chris Waller
29 x3440x450x GRAFF H 5 Danny O’Brien
30 311x1412x7 GREYWORM G 6 Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes
31 2x13212x1x GYTRASH G 5 Gordon Richards
32 1x1120x4x HANSEATIC C 3 Anthony & Sam Freedman
33 1x111221x1 HAUT BRION HER M 5 Chris Waller
34 7x58x3129x HEY DOC G 7 Tony & Calvin McEvoy
35 3427x3129x HUMAN NATURE G 4 Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes
36 x27x33580x KEMENTARI G 6 James Cummings
37 x45778x021 KOLDING (NZ) G 5 Chris Waller
38 1x1133x49x LIBERTINI M 4 Anthony Cummings
39 4x24423x26 LYRE M 4 Anthony & Sam Freedman
40 11x9702x67 MADAM ROUGE M 5 Chris Waller
41 51x11x23 MASKED CRUSADER G 4 Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes
42 110×3 MINHAAJ F 3 Tom Dabernig & Ben Hayes
43 46x11133x0 MIZZY M 5 Anthony Cummings
44 21x25208x1 MUNTASEERA F 3 Ciaron Maher & David Eustace
45 141x411x2x NATURE STRIP G 6 Chris Waller
46 x111x41114 OCTANE G 5 Phillip Stokes
47 6527x1153x ORDER OF COMMAND G 6 Danny O’Brien
48 13477x60x PHILIZZY F 3 Anthony Cummings
49 11102x146x PIPPIE M 5 John & Chris Meagher
50 116162×4 PRAGUE C 3 Ciaron Maher & David Eustace
51 1x112x11x1 ROTHFIRE G 3 Robert Heathcote
52 x225x6266x SANTA ANA LANE G 8 Anthony & Sam Freedman
53 1x12766x18 SAVATIANO M 6 James Cummings
54 26x530x88x SPIRIT OF VALOR (USA) H 7 Kris Lees
55 x331911x56 SPLINTEX H 4 Mark Newnham
56 1112x160x5 STANDOUT H 4 Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou
57 93x1720x22 STAR OF THE SEAS (NZ) G 6 Chris Waller
58 1259243×46 SUBPOENAED (NZ) M 4 Chris Waller
59 10×2 SWATS THAT F 3 Leon & Troy Corstens
60 20x84170x8 TACTICAL ADVANTAGE G 7 Kris Lees
61 31x4124x36 TAGALOA C 3 Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young
62 1110x820x4 THE INEVITABLE G 5 Scott Brunton
63 1360x2223x THE VELVET KING G 5 Peter G Moody
64 11x77351x3 TOFANE (NZ) M 5 Michael Moroney
65 1324x7219x TREKKING G 6 James Cummings
66 31x7410x81 WILD PLANET G 5 Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes
67 1x238x WILD RULER C 3 Peter & Paul Snowden
68 1131x3417x XILONG M 4 Tony & Calvin McEvoy
69 336x2400x1 ZOUTORI G 5 Mathew Ellerton & Simon Zahra
   Table Credit: Racing Australia.

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