John O’Shea’s last start Matron Stakes winner Circular is one of the standout early entries taken for the Sunline Stakes 2017 running under the lights at Moonee Valley Racecourse on Friday night.

Circular is among the top mares nominated for the Sunline Stakes 2017 at Moonee Valley on William Reid Stakes Night. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

The key support act on the William Reid Stakes Night program, this autumn’s $200,000 Group 2 Sunline Stakes (1600m) attracted seventeen fillies and mares at nomination stage on Monday.

Godolphin-raced Street Cry four-year-old Circular is among the hopefuls chasing back-to-back wins after her Flemington success in the Group 3 Matron Stakes (1600m) on Super Saturday.

A gun miler, she has enjoyed three wins and a second from five runs over the Sunline Stakes distance.

Friday will be her first Moonee Valley run however if she’s accepted into the Sunline Stakes field.

Third in the same lead-up race was the Danny O’Brien-trained Miss Rose De Lago who is nominated to defend her Sunline Stakes title this weekend.

A now six-year-old daughter of Encosta De Lago, she won last season’s Sunline Stakes on the back of a Matron Stakes fourth.

This campaign she went one better in the Matron, also running third in the Group 3 Mannerism Stakes (1400m) before that at Caulfield, and is out to go back-to-back in the Sunline Stakes for the first time since Spirit Song (2012-13).

A number of female gallopers hold a nomination for both the Sunline Stakes as well as the $500,000 Group 1 William Reid Stakes (1200m) at the Friday night race meeting including I Am A Star.

Shane Nichols’ filly won the Myer Classic over the mile at Flemington during the spring and was last seen posting her first victory since at the same track in the Group 2 Kewney Stakes (1400m).

Another dual Sunline Stakes – William Reid Stakes nominee is the super-consistent Andrew Noblet-trained Silent Sedition.

The four-year-old daughter of War Chant has finished in the money in all but one of her fifteen career starts to date.

After taking out the Mannerism Stakes on Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes Day she raced second in the Group 1 Coolmore Classic (1500m) at Rosehill on March 11.

Silent Sedition was beaten by the barest of margins by the winner Heavens Above in that Sydney Group 1 from barrier 18 of 19 and is set to return to Melbourne for her run this weekend.

Other standout Sunline Stakes nominees include the first two past the post in the Group 3 Frances Tressady Stakes (1400m) at Flemington on March 4 – Turbo Miss (1^st) and Rising Romance (2^nd).

Darren Weir prepares Sebring four-year-old Turbo Miss who has had three previous Moonee Valley runs for two seconds and a third.

Rising Romance is a Lindsay Park-trained Ekraar six-year-old who hasn’t won a race since February of 2015.

She is best known for her 2014 Australian Oaks win as a filly and while it has been a long time between wins, the mare has been competitive in plenty of good races including her Memsie Stakes second to Black Heart Bart in August of last year.

See below for the full Sunline Stakes 2017 nominations, the field and barriers plus updated markets at Ladbrokes.com.au set for release on Wednesday.

2017 Sunline Stakes Nominations

Moonee Valley Racecourse – 24/03/2017