Money is coming for the Godolphin-raced Savatiano to return to Group 1 winning form in Brisbane’s Kingsford-Smith Cup 2021 on Saturday.

Savatiano is the firming favourite to win Saturday’s 2021 Kingsford-Smith Cup in Brisbane. Photo: Steve Hart.

The action of Queensland’s Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival moves to Eagle Farm Racecourse this weekend and features a double-shot of elite level racing including the Group 1 $700,000 Kingsford-Smith Cup (1300m).

The Kingsford-Smith Cup field features a capacity 16 starters and the early market mover now sitting top of the odds at $4 through Ladbrokes.com.au is classy Street Cry mare Savatiano.

The six-year-old has her third run at Eagle Farm where she previously won the Group 3 Moreton Stakes (1600m) and finished third in the Group 1 Tatt’s Tiara (1400m) back in 2019.

She has been a consistent performer for the powerhouse Royal Blue brigade in the two years since including her recent Group 1 Canterbury Stakes (1300m) success at Randwick this March.

Savatiano is tipped to salute at the highest level again on Saturday and atone for her narrow last start loss to Kolding in the Group 1 All Aged Stakes (1400m) from April 24.

Drawn well in gate eight, Hugh Bowman comes aboard for the mare’s return to Brisbane and chases his second win in the event following a 2017 victory aboard Clearly Innocent.

Trainer James Cummings meanwhile won the race the next year with Impending (2018) and along with the favourite also saddles-up the rails-drawn Kementari ($20) and the 2019 Stradbroke champion Trekking ($8) in his bid for a second.

One-time favourite now occupying the second line of Kingsford-Smith Cup betting at Ladbrokes.com.au is South Australian superstar Gytrash ($5).

The Gordon Richards-trained Lope De Vega five-year-old has finished worse than third in just one of his 23 career starts to date and has amassed over $3.2 million in prize money along the way.

He’s a Group 1 winning sprinter at Flemington and also won Sydney’s $1 million Winners’ Stakes (1300m) last October on the back of his $15 million The Everest third.

Gytrash returned to much fanfare on May 15 at home in Morphettville’s Group 1 The Goodwood (1200m), but only managed to run a brave third as the beaten favourite.

He seeks atonement second-up in Brisbane on Saturday, but has suffered an early blow drawing out wide in gate 15 with Jason Collett continuing his gun association on the gelding.

Double-figures are offered on the rest of the field, aside from the aforementioned Trekking, with the other most likely being Savatoxl at $13 chasing a third win on the trot.

Tony & Calvin McEvoy’s in-form Kuroshio gelding comes off back-to-back wins in Adelaide having won the Group 3 DC McKay by three lengths before his two-length upset in The Goodwood at big odds.

Barend Vorster is aboard again as Savatoxl looks to frank that form, but the galloper will need to be good going up to 1300m and rising from 56kg to 59kg at weight-for-age from a wide alley (14).

The other notable runners in the Kingsford-Smith Cup this winter include last start Group 2 Victory Stakes winner Niccanova ($15), runner-up in that Vega One who ran a close fourth in the Group 1 Doomben 10,000 on May 15 and the fellow Tony Gollan-trained Jonker who finished third in the Group 1 The Galaxy (1100m) behind Eduardo in late March.

Click here for the latest Kingsford Smith-Cup 2021 betting odds courtesy of Ladbrokes.com.au.

2021 Kingsford-Smith Cup Field & Barriers

Table Credit: Racing Australia.