The Birthday Card Stakes 2017 for fillies and mares runs as a support act on the Golden Slipper Day program this Saturday in Sydney and betting on the sprint showdown is a wide open affair.
Hieroglyphics is one of the best in an open 2017 Birthday Card Stakes betting affair this Saturday at Rosehill. Photo: Steve Hart.
Due to run as Rosehill Race 2 at 12:55pm (AEDT), this season’s $150,000 Group 3 Birthday Card Stakes (1200m) has attracted ten final acceptors.
More than half-of those are under $10 for the win in the latest Birthday Card Stakes odds at Ladbrokes.com.au with six single-figure fancies.
Narrow early favourite is the untapped John O’Shea-trained Street Cry filly Raiment ($3.60) who is out to continue her gun form over the distance (4-2-2-0).
She has finished in the money in all but one of her eight career starts to date including posting her third career win last start in mid-January giving her nine weeks between runs.
Saturday marks her first Rosehill run, she has winning form on Heavy going and trialled well in the wet when runner-up to Russian Revolution over 1050m on March 7.
Second favourite in Birthday Card Stakes betting at $4.60 is another last start winner, Samantha Miss who gets in on the 53kg minimum.
Gerald Ryan trains the Snitzel filly who comes off a Listed 1100m win at Randwick from March 4 on a Heavy (10) track.
With likely rain-affected conditions at Rosehill this weekend, proven performers in the wet are dominant in all markets including this lightly-raced up-and-comer.
Third favourite at $6 is the always-honest Conatus five-year-old Hieroglyphics prepared by Anthony & Edward Cummings.
She won back-to-back races over 1100m in February before a devastatingly close second to Rocket Commander in the Group 3 Wenona Girl Handicap (1200m) on Heavy going last time out in a run she gets the chance to atone for here.
Higher up the weights are Nancy (58.5kg) and Zestful (58kg) paying $8 and $7.50 respectively to take out the Birthday Card Stakes 2017.
Hugh Bowman of Winx fame rides the Peter & Paul Snowden-trained Big Brown mare Nancy on top kilos from barrier seven.
Winner of the Group 3 Hawkesbury Darley Crown (1300m) last April, the five-year-old was runner-up first-up in the Group 3 Triscay Stakes (1200m) with Bowman aboard.
Blake Shinn had the ride last start at the beginning of the month when Nancy was brave in defeat going down under two lengths for her Wenona Girl fourth.
Winner of the Triscay Stakes in mid-February, the Kris Lees-trained Zestful is also coming off a good Wenona Girl Handicap run.
That race looks the form-line to follow into the Birthday Card Stakes and the third-placed Zestful is in the mix again even going up a kilo.
Rounding out the top half of the markets at $8.50 is the returning Tempt Me Not on 53.5kg, James Cummings’ four-year-old racing for the first time since her Derby Day failure in Melbourne.
The Group 3 winner was dead last at Flemington behind Sheidel finishing a well-beaten 20th, but has won a subsequent trial in the wet at Randwick ahead of her return.
In the March 7 hit-out Tempt Me Not beat home Daysee Doom by three lengths, that filly running a very brave fourth just over a length off the winner Heavens Above in last weekend’s Group 1 Coolmore Classic (1500m).
See below for the full Birthday Card Stakes 2017 field, barriers and latest Fixed Win markets provided by Ladbrokes.com.au – home of Odds Boost (T&Cs apply).
