Reigning Horse of the Year Typhoon Tracy headlines a star-studded final field for this Saturday’s $400,000 Group 1 CF Orr Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield, 16 runners accepted for the weight-for-age showdown and opening Group 1 race of the 2011 Melbourne Autumn Racing Carnival.

The 2011 CF Orr Stakes, scheduled as Race 7 at Caulfield on Saturday, will see Peter Moody’s five-time Group 1 winning mare and 2010 CF Orr Stakes champion Typhoon Tracy back to defend her title.

Red Ransom five-year-old Typhoon Tracy, likely to be retired as a broodmare at the end of this season, resumed in the Group 2 Australia Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on January 28.

Starting the favourite, she finished a respectable third beaten by less than a length by Whitefriars.

On Saturday the Typhoon will advantage from the slightly longer 1400m distance and with 57kg is one of the three light-weight mares in the field along with Bart Cummings’ Faint Perfume (barrier seven) and Testa Rossa mare Ortensia (barrier six) who was fourth in the Australia Stakes.

Typhoon Tracy, however, has suffered a blow with a wide barrier 11 draw.

Leading Victorian trainer Moody also has his last start stakes winner Doubtful Jack (barrier five) and new edition to his stables, former Macau galloper and Horse of the Year there Luen Yat Forever (barrier 16) engaged for the CF Orr this year.

Coming up trumps in the CF Orr barrier draw is the Robert Hickmott-trained Linton with the inside alley.

Linton, one of two horses representing prominent racehorse owner Lloyd Williams in the CF Orr Stakes field along with nine-year-old warrior Zipping, is due to be ridden by Michael Rodd on Saturday.

The Galileo four-year-old showed promise in the spring with a good win in the Group 3 Herbert Power Stakes (2400m) and second place finish behind Maluckyday in the Group 3 The Lexus Stakes (2500m) but failed to run the 3200m of the Melbourne Cup finishing a distant 21^st out of the 23 starters.

Having been freshened up, Linton is a top chance in the CF Orr Stakes but may struggle with the 59kg which is the heaviest weight they have carried to date.

Zipping has drawn at the other end of the field in gate 10.

The in-form Danehill gelding is resuming after a stunning spring that included a Group 1 victory in the Turnbull Stakes and multiple Group placings including their second to So You Think in the Cox Plate and fourth in the Melbourne Cup.

Twelve months ago Zipping ran seventh to Typhoon Tracy in the CF Orr but is expected to do much better this time round.

Other horses returning from last year’s CF Orr Stakes are 2010 runner-up Heart Of Dreams, fourth placegetter Danzylum and Shocking who ran eighth.

Previous Melbourne Cup winner Shocking is also first-up for the season on Saturday, but has a horror barrier 15 draw to contend from.

Other notable runners in the CF Orr Stakes this year include Bart Cummings’ Zabeel five-year-old Precedence, the Ciaron Maher-trained Moudre and David Haye’s European import Rebel Soldier making their Australian race debut.

Odds on the CF Orr Stakes and all the other Caulfield features this Saturday are due to open at our preferred online bookmaker Luxbet shortly so open your account with them now!

2011 Sportingbet C.F. Orr Stakes Field, Barriers & Weights

#	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight (kg)	Hcp. Rating
1	ZIPPING	Robert Hickmott	Nicholas Hall	10	59	119
2	SHOCKING	Mark Kavanagh	Corey Brown	15	59	118
3	HEART OF DREAMS	Mick Price	Damien Oliver	2	59	113
4	LUEN YAT FOREVER	Peter G Moody	Dwayne Dunn	16	59	104
5	PRECEDENCE (NZ)	Bart Cummings	Steven Arnold	12	59	108
6	TRUSTING	John P Thompson	James Winks	13	59	107
7	DANZYLUM	Robbie Griffiths	Luke Currie	8	59	106
8	DOUBTFUL JACK	Peter G Moody	–	5	59	106
9	MOUDRE	Ciaron Maher	Craig Williams	9	59	106
10	LINTON	Robert Hickmott	Michael Rodd	1	59	105
11	KUTCHINSKY	Tony Noonan	Jake Noonan (a)	3	59	94
12	SPACECRAFT	Mick Price	Glen Boss	14	59	104
13	REBEL SOLDIER (IRE)	David Hayes	Brad Rawiller	4	58.5	102
14	TYPHOON TRACY	Peter G Moody	–	11	57	117
15	FAINT PERFUME	Bart Cummings	Ben Melham	7	57	107
16	ORTENSIA	Tony Noonan	Mark Zahra	6	57	111

Photo courtesy (c) Taron Clarke Photography