Saturday’s Blamey Stakes 2018 field at Flemington Racecourse has attracted a diminutive line-up of just six hopefuls with the Darren Weir-trained duo of Humidor and Tosen Stardom battling for favouritism.
Multiple Group 1 winner Tosen Stardom is narrow favourite in Blamey Stakes 2018 betting for the Group 2 at Flemington this Saturday. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.
Set to run as Flemington Race 5 at 3:10pm (AEDT) as one of the final feature races of the Melbourne Festival of Racing, this season’s Group 2 $200,000 Blamey Stakes (1600m) is shaping-up as a battle of the Weir stablemates.
Currently sitting as narrow favourite in the Blamey Stakes odds at Ladbrokes.com.au is last year’s runner-up Tosen Stardom ($2.20).
A dual Group 1 winner since with victories in the Toorak Handicap (1600m) at Caulfield and Emirates Stakes (2000m) at Flemington, the Japanese import races third-up on Saturday.
The seven-year-old Deep Impact entire was last seen finishing under a length back second to another Weir runner formerly prepared in Japan, Brave Smash, in the Group 1 Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on February 24.
That form was franked last weekend with the winner running second at Flemington down the straight behind Redkirk Warrior in the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m).
Tosen Stardom meanwhile steps-up to a mile in the Blamey Stakes on the weekend on way to a likely autumn grand final in Sydney on April 14 in Randwick’s Group 1 $4 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m).
Hot on his heels in the Blamey Stakes betting markets, Humidor is paying $2.50 to salute second-up after drawing barrier one.
The five-year-old son of Teofilo also returned in the Futurity Stakes on Blue Diamond Day running fourth and is tipped to finish close stepping up to a mile, a distance he boasts three wins and a second from five previous starts over.
Humidor chases his first victory since saluting in the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at this track and distance last September, but is perhaps best known for the Cox Plate close call when runner-up to Winx at The Valley that October.
Outside of the dominant Weir duo, the other best in betting for the Blamey Stakes this Saturday are Hellova Street and Odeon both at $8.50 for the win.
Scott Brunton saddles-up Tasmanian raider Hellova Street, the proven Flemington performer chasing his third win on the trot.
He comes off back-to-back victories back home in February, including his latest over the Launceston mile by 3.5 lengths, and is back in Melbourne for the first time since his second in the Group 3 Sandown Stakes (1500m) last November.
Hellova Street boasts a two-from-three Flemington track record including his Group 3 Chatham Stakes (1400m) win here in the spring.
Odeon meanwhile is a four-year-old son of Zacinto, locally trained by Mathew Ellerton & Simon Zahra looking to improve on a lead-up sixth to Nozomi on March 3 in the Group 3 Shaftesbury Avenue Stakes (1400m) when two lengths beaten.
The Blamey Stakes field and betting markets are then rounded out by Lindsay Park’s consistent five-year-old Cool Chap ($16) and the Michael Moroney-trained Seymour Cup runner-up Radipole ($18) drawn in barriers two and three respectively.
See below for the full Blamey Stakes 2018 field, barriers and latest Fixed Win racing odds provided by Ladbrokes.com.au.
