Paul Perry’s Group 1 winning colt The Mission makes his return to racing this weekend at Rosehill Gardens headlining a field of three-year-olds in the Stan Fox Stakes 2017.  

The Mission will resume in the Group 2 Stan Fox Stakes on Saturday. Photo: Steve Hart

Due to run as Randwick Race 4 at 2:00pm (AEST), this season’s Group 2 $200,000 Kari Stan Fox Stakes (1500m) features an eight-horse field.  

Drawn ideally in barrier three with Corey Brown booked for the first-up ride is Choisir colt The Mission whose last start produced a commanding win over Invader in the Group 1 Champagne Stakes (1600m) at Randwick.  

A proven wet track performer, The Mission will appreciate any give out of the ground on the weekend and has trialled twice since his elite level success including a five-length heat win over 1200m at Newcastle on August 16.  

The Mission gives the fitness edge away to his rivals with the other seven contenders in the Stan Fox Stakes field having had the benefit of at least one run this campaign.  

A key rival shapes-up as the untapped Addictive Nature who has won two of his three career starts to date.  

The Bjorn Baker-trained son of Savabeel was an expensive $750,000 yearling buy and is starting to live up to his potential.  

He was last seen making his black-type debut at Rosehill on August 26 where Addictive Nature held on in a narrow finish to win the Group 3 Ming Dynasty Quality (1400m).  

The colt rises a kilo to 56.5kg on the weekend looking to continue his good form and Tim Clark retains the ride.  

After The Mission, the other highest rated hope in the Stan Fox Stakes field this Sydney Spring Racing Carnival is the Gerald Ryan-trained Trapeze Artist in gate one with Kerrin McEvoy in the saddle. 

The Snitzel colt is a Group 3 winner and Group 1 placegetter having improved on a Golden Slipper Stakes sixth to She Will Reign for his third in the ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes over 1400m behind Invader at the start of April.  

He kicked off his three-year-old prep in the Group 3 Up & Coming Stakes (1300m) on August 19 running under three lengths back for sixth.  

A subsequent winning Rosehill heat over In Her time and Comin’ Through has Trapeze Artist fired-up and ready to improve second-up.  

The flying Lindsay Park stable are represented in the race by Street Cry colt Eshtiraak who has a 50% winning strike rate (8-4-0-1) to date.  

Saturday will be the progressive galloper’s first Rosehill run and he’ll be out to improve on the close fourth behind the winner Dracarys in the Up & Coming Stakes from last month. 

Other top hopes include the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained Up & Coming Stakes runner-up Gold Standard and Godolphin’s Teofilo colt Sanctioned who ran third in the same lead-up race.  

Check out the full Stan Fox Stakes 2017 field, barriers and jockeys below before heading to Ladbrokes.com.au to check out all the Saturday racing odds online.  

2017 Stan Fox Stakes Final Field & Barrier Draw 

Rosehill Race 4 (2:00pm) – 09/09/2017