Anise to Spice up Kindergarten Stakes at Randwick

The action of Royal Randwick’s AJC Australian Derby Day will get underway tomorrow with the $125,000 Group 3 Kindergarten Stakes (1100m) and Peter Snowden’s General Nediym filly Anise is ready to serve up a spicy challenge in the two-year-olds’ feature.

Having come up trumps with the ideal barrier three for the 2011 Kindergarten Stakes, Gerald Ryan’s unraced Not A Single Doubt gelding Conroy’s Gap opened the $3.70 favourite to win the 2011 Kindergarten Stakes followed by stablemate and Golden Slipper contender Hot Snitzel (barrier three) at $5.50.

Golden Slipper winner Sepoy whose stablemate Anise races in the Kindergarten Stakes on Saturday

However if there is one trainer that knows what it takes to prepare a winning two-year-old it is Peter Snowden who won the Golden Slipper with the talented Sepoy last Saturday.

This weekend in the Kindergarten Stakes Snowden is out for more Group glory starting with Anise in the Kindergarten Stakes.

Rated a $9 chance to win having drawn wide with barrier eight in the 10-horse field, Anise is due to be ridden by Kerrin McEvoy.

After winning over 1100m on debut at Rosehill last November, Anise resumed in The Clarry Conners Plate (1100m) at Warwick Farm on March 5 where she finished second to Foxwedge.

At her most recent start Anise was four and a half lengths away fourth to Golden Slipper third-placegetter Elite Falls in the Group 2 Reisling Stakes (1200m) on March 19.

She battled strongly in the Reisling Stakes and looks fitter for tomorrow.

“Anise had a decent run in the Reisling, but still needs to find at least two lengths to win here,” Ryan Clark chief journalist for CupCarnival.com.au said.

A progressive filly, Anise should be able to improve plenty and find the line first tomorrow.

Other top chances for the Kindergarten Stakes include Gai Waterhouse’s lightly-raced More Than Ready filly Aubazine ($6) coming off a nice barrier trial win here on March 25 and the John Thompson-trained Pago Pago Stakes runner-up Boys On Tour ($12) drawn on the rails in barrier one.

The 2011 McGrath Estate Agents Kindergarten Stakes is due to jump at 11:50am (AEST), the first of nine Group races running at Randwick to celebrate the 150^th AJC Australian Derby.