A diminutive field of just eight three-year-old fillies are accepted for Saturday’s Thousand Guineas 2017 on Ladbrokes Caulfield Guineas Day in Melbourne.

Alizee faces just seven rivals in Saturday’s Thousand Guineas 2017 field at Caulfield Racecourse. Photo: Steve Hart.

The day’s marquee race, the Group 1 $2 million Ladbrokes Caulfield Guineas (1600m) drew a capacity field, while the Group 1 $500,000 Schweppes Thousand Guineas (1600m) features just half the numbers.

It is the smallest Thousand Guineas field in over 30 years with the only other edition to run with under 10 starters in that time being 2013 when Guelph beat home eight rivals.

Lindsay Park-trained filly Catchy opted to take on the boys four four-times the prizemoney in the 2017 Caulfield Guineas, leaving only eight of her own kind to contest the day’s major support act.

Red hot favourite in Thousand Guineas betting out to be the first top fancy to salute in the race since the aforementioned Guelph (2013) is the James Cummings-trained, Godolphin-raced Alizee.

Jockey Glyn Schofield is after his first win in the Thousand Guineas aboard the flying Sepoy filly who, like Guelph, is out to complete an interstate Group 1 mile double.

Alizee was last seen running away for an over two length win in Sydney’s Group 1 Flight Stakes (1600m) at Randwick, the same race Global Glamour (2016) also won last year before her Thousand Guineas success in Melbourne.

Proven over the mile, Alizee will take some beating in a small field this weekend as she looks to prove her dominance again in her first Victorian assignment.

The other key lead-up into the Thousand Guineas is the Prelude, held over 1400m this year on October 1.

Thousand Guineas Prelude winner Booker is chasing a double last completed by Irish Lights (2009), the Mathew Ellerton & Simon Zahra-trained Written Tycoon filly to be ridden by Dwayne Dunn again this weekend.

Dunn rode the Lindsay Park-trained Stay With Me (2015) to victory in the Thousand Guineas two years ago and has been aboard Booker for her latest three starts.

The Thousand Guineas Prelude runner-up Shoals is also back for a rematch in Saturday’s Group 1, the Anthony Freedman-trained daughter of Fastnet Rock having won her opening four career starts before the lead-up second.

She is yet to see a mile, but is a Group 2 winner having saluted in the wet during the autumn in Sydney.

The other standout coming via a different form race is the Darren Weir-trained Street Cry filly Leather’n’lace on the quick back-up.

Last Saturday at Flemington the in-form Leather’n’lace stepped up to a mile and finished third as the beaten favourite behind VRC Oaks-bound Bring Me Roses in the Group 2 Edward Manifold Stakes (1600m).

Her previous start produced a two and a quarter-length Caulfield win over 1400m and she is tipped to enjoy the return to the track on Saturday with Damian Lane retaining the ride.

See below for the official Thousand Guineas 2017 final acceptances, the barriers and updated odds at Ladbrokes.com.au set for release shortly.

2017 Thousand Guineas Final Field

Caulfield Racecourse – 14/10/2017