Kicking off the Group 1 racing action in Sydney today is the 2015 Champagne Stakes featuring a field of hopeful youngsters facing off in Randwick Race 4 at 2:25pm (AEST).
Fears Tarquin will get back and fail to run on have seen his price to win the 2015 Champagne Stakes ease right out. Photo: Steve Hart.
There are nine two-year-olds in the mix for this year’s $400,000 Group 1 Moet & Chandon Champagne Stakes (1600m) with the Peter Moody-trained Pasadena Girl the red hot favourite at $2.60 through Ladbrokes.com.au.
Drawn to perfection in gate four for jockey Hugh Bowman, the Savabeel filly has just her third career start here and is heavily backed to produce her third win having firmed in from $3.30 earlier in the week.
Her two career wins so far were both in stakes races at Flemington earlier in the autumn including the Group 3 Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes (1200m) on March 14.
She debuted in Sydney then and geared up for the Champagne Stakes run over a mile when a fast finishing fourth in the Group 1 ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m).
That was her first look at further than 1400m and she handled it and the notable class rise well.
Now she’s out over a little further again and tipped to handle it, especially with more Champagne Stakes winners coming out of Sydney’s Sires’ Produce than any other race including 23 in the past 30 years.
Second favourite in the Champagne Stakes betting markets meanwhile Odyssey Moon is on the drift out from $3.50 to $4.60 to improve and go one better than his equal ATC Sires’ Produce second.
He is drawn one on the outside of Pasadena Girl today jumping from age five with Damien Oliver aboard Rodney Northam’s Snitzel colt.
Oliver rode the up-and-comer, eighth when only 2.2 lengths off the winner in the Golden Slipper two back, in the Sires last time out and at the easing price the horse represents nice value in the markets for this afternoon’s major.
At a steady $6 is then the third pick to win, Takedown in the outside barrier shooting for his fourth straight success.
Kerrin McEvoy rides the consistent Gary Moore-trained Stratum gelding who was last seen taking out the Group 3 The Schweppervescence (1400m) at Rosehill on March 28 over the Gai Waterhouse-trained Street Rapper.
The big drifter out from $6 to $8 meanwhile is James McDonald’s mount Tarquin, the John O’Shea-trained son of Hard Spun coming off an ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes fifth after winning the Group 2 Pago Pago Stakes (1200m) the start before at Rosehill.
He stayed on well last time out but with nothing running on early at Randwick today he’s tipped to settle midfield without the early pace to get up and plug away to finish outside the top three.
Street Rapper has also eased out form $9 to $10 in barrier two for Blake Shinn.
Market movers for the value bets are then last Saturday’s Fernhill Handicap winner The Barrister ($13 into $12) looking to back-up after a big win over the track and distance seven days earlier, and Mine Two ($17 into $14) who is the other filly in the race today.
Check out the latest Champagne Stakes 2015 betting markets below, prices open at Ladbrokes.com.au where you’ll win 20% more thanks to their Best Tote or SP + 20% markets open on today’s two Group 1 races in Sydney!
