The Chris Waller-trained Global Quest will kick off his Golden Slipper campaign this Saturday in Sydney’s 2020 Canonbury Stakes.

Breeders’ Plate winner Global Quest races first-up in the 2020 Canonbury Stakes this weekend. Photo: Steve Hart.

With Rosehill racing for Expressway Stakes Day moved to Royal Randwick due to a heat wave in Sydney’s west, the two juvenile features on the card have attracted diminutive fields.

In the fillies’ Widden Stakes Magic Millions Classic winner Away Game is favourite to beat home just four rivals before six two-year-old colts and geldings do battle in the Group 3 $160,000 Canonbury Stakes (1100m).

A key lead-up to the Group 1 $3.5 million Golden Slipper Stakes (1200m) held at Rosehill Gardens on March 21, the Canonbury Stakes betting markets at Ladbrokes.com.au are led by More Than Ready colt Global Quest ($2.35).

Jockey Hugh Bowman chases his third Canonbury Stakes winning ride aboard the top fancy having previously claimed the Slipper lead-up with Raceway (2012) and Tickets (2009).

Bowman replaces James McDonald aboard Global Quest this weekend, McDonald having been aboard the colt for his winning debut at Randwick last October in the Group 3 Breeders’ Plate (1000m).

Global Quest has had two subsequent Sydney trials in January ahead of his first-up run looking fit and ready to fire fresh in the Canonbury Stakes from barrier four.

Favourites have a gun record in the Canonbury Stakes with four of the past eight winners jumping odds-on favourites.

The 57.5kg topweight at set weights plus penalties also looks a non-issue historically for Global Quest with both Vancouver (2015) and Performer (2018) carrying that weight to victory in recent years.

It is a bunched market behind the favourite with four of the other five runners under $8 in the Canonbury Stakes odds including the $4 second elect Prague for Ciaron Maher & David Eustace.

Maher & Eustace saddle-up the aforementioned favourite Away Game in the Widden Stakes one race earlier and jockey Tom Marquand has the ride on both her and Prague.

A well-bred Redoute’s Choice colt, Prague comes off an eye-catching two length win on debut over 1200m at Canterbury under the lights on January 17 carrying 57kg.

He is down in both distance and weight this weekend getting in with 54.5kg and looks a genuine danger stepping up in grade here with the Group 1 $1 million ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) on April 4 on the cards.

“We weren’t planning to run Prague in this race, but he came through his last run so well we decided to give him a start,” Sydney stable rep Annabel Neasham told AAP.

“He is a horse we have a really good opinion of.

“We think we’ve got a nice horse for the Sires’ so the Slipper will be his initial target, but we want to make sure we have enough horse for the Sires’ two weeks later.”

The Gerald Ryan-trained Return To Honour ($5.50) in gate three and the rails-drawn Sebring colt Gravina ($5.50) for Godolphin are the next best in betting.

Gravina is out to improve on a last start eighth behind Dame Giselle in the $1 million Golden Gift (1100m) at Rosehill last November.

Peter & Paul Snowden then saddle-up $7.50 hope Nitrous chasing their third win in four years following victories with Pariah (2017) and McLaren (2019) last season.

A winner of two of his four starts to date, Deep Field colt Nitrous was last seen finishing four lengths back seventh to Away Game in the $2 million Magic Millions 2YO Classic (1200m) at the Gold Coast.

He met Global Quest in the Breeders’ Plate last year and was a distant eight lengths back in eighth but has the benefit of three subsequent runs ahead of the rematch on Saturday.

Anthony Cummings’ debutant Gorshin ($21) rounds out the field and markets.

Click here for the latest Canonbury Stakes 2020 odds courtesy of Ladbrokes.com.au.

2020 Canonbury Stakes Field & Barriers