The Coolmore Classic meeting will be held at Rosehill this Saturday. The course proper was rated a Soft 6 on Thursday and with overcast weather in Sydney leading up to the weekend, Rosehill will be racing on a Soft track on raceday.
Good stayer Libran is stepping up to a more suitable distance in the Sky High Stakes on Saturday (Sydney Race 2, 2000m). This Waller-trained gelding finished a commendable 8th in the Melbourne Cup before his spell. First up in the Chipping Norton Stakes 2 weeks ago, Libran ran home well for 4th behind super mare Winx. The 2000m on Saturday will suit him much better as he has a good record over the trip with 4 wins and a placing from 7 attempts. Libran also has a pretty good record on Soft tracks and Brenton Avdulla will once again be aboard the gelding. With class on his side, Libran could be the horse they all have to beat.
Lightly raced 4YO Sprightly Lass is up in class in the Maurice McCarten Stakes but she is a mare with untapped potential (Sydney Race 5, 1100m). This Team Hawkes-trained mare has a great strike rate with 4 wins and a 2nd from 5 career starts. She can handle any track conditions and she usually goes to the front in her races to make her own luck. Starting in Group company for the 1st time on Saturday, she will be down in the weight with only 53kg. From barrier 8, Avdulla will take the 4YO straight to the lead and Sprightly Lass will run them ragged.
The Waller-trained Egg Tart can take out another Group 1 race with victory in the Coolmore Classic (Sydney Race 7, 1500m). After winning the Queensland Oakes in the Winter carnival, the Sebring 4YO had an underwhelming 3 starts Spring campaign. Waller has given Egg Tart two quiet trials in February in preparation for the Autumn campaign and the mare has put up a slashing 1st up run a fortnight ago in the Liverpool City Cup, coming from a long way back to finish 4th beaten only 1 length on the line. Stepping up to 1500 2nd up will suit and Egg Tart can handle any track conditions. Drawn nicely in barrier 3, the in-form Kerrin McEvoy will settle where the mare is comfortable and Egg Tart will be hard to hold out in the run home.
By Owens Wong, Editor
