Consistent Mathew Ellerton & Simona Zahra-trained local filly Arctic Angel is early favourite of the two-year-old girls facing off in the Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes 2017 field at Flemington on Saturday.
Due to run as Flemington Race 4 at 2:25pm (AEDT) as the major support act on the Blamey Stakes Day card this weekend, the $150,000 Group 3 TBV Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes (1200m) has attracted ten final acceptors.
Drawn nicely in barrier three with Chris Symons riding is Hard Spun filly Arctic Angel down in class off two Group 2 placings this time in.
Winner of the Listed Merson Cooper Stakes (1000m) at her second career start in the spring, she ran a first-up third behind subsequent Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes winner Catchy in Melbourne’s Group 3 BD Prelude on February 11.
Last start Arctic Angel improved with a Randwick second on a Heavy (8) track in the Group 2 Sweet Embrace Stakes (1200m).
She now leads Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes odds at Ladbrokes.com.au paying $3.40 for the win and if she’s pulled up okay from the tough run in the mud, she’ll be the one to beat.
Second favourite and early Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes betting market mover is Garrard ($4.40).
Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young train the nicely-bred Sepoy filly who broke her maiden status at start number three over 1000m at Bendigo in late February.
Saturday is her first black-type test and how she handles the sharp rise in class against a field of Group performed fillies will be key to her chances.
In an open market three others are at single-figures for the win including Time Awaits ($6).
The Tony McEvoy-trained daughter of Nicconi has won two of her four runs so far, most recently a Listed sprint at Morphettville at the start of the month.
She is also Group 3 performed in Melbourne when runner-up behind Formality in the Group 3 Chairman’s Stakes (1000m) three back.
That form was franked by the Lindsay Park-trained winner Formality who went on to run third to stablemate Catchy in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) and she lines-up in the Golden Slipper field in Sydney on Saturday.
Ploverset ($6.50) and Shoals ($6.50) meanwhile are both coming off winning debuts and shape-up as livewire hopes.
The flying Lindsay Park stable could uncover yet another smart two-year-old in Street Boss filly Ploverset who enjoyed a quarter-length win at the Flemington track on March 4.
She beat home stablemate Madeenaty, coming off a Magic Millions Classic third to Houtzen, in the Listed Festival Stakes (1000m) in that and the runner-up is also a $3.5 million Golden Slipper contender this weekend.
The step-up in distance looks like it will be fine for Ploverset who hit the line hard in a race full of depth first-up and who has the gun form lines to follow into Saturday’s Group 3.
Shoals meanwhile gets the run of the race from barrier two with Mark Zahra riding the Lee & Anthony Freedman-trained Fastnet Rock filly who blitzed her 1100m Seymour debut on February 21 by four lengths.
Check out the full Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes 2017 field, barriers and Fixed Win odds below – heading to Ladbrokes.com.au to back your Blamey Stakes Day tips at the right autumn racing prices.