The first Group 1 race in Melbourne in 2013 is the $400,000 C F Orr Stakes, being held at Caulfield this Saturday. The Caulfield track was rated a Dead 4 on Thursday and with fine weather forecast, the track could upgrade to Good 3 on raceday.
The Expressway Stakes meeting in Sydney will be held at Warwick Farm. The track was rated a Dead 4 on Thursday. Sunny weather has been forecast for the next couple of days and I expect Warwick Farm will be upgraded to Good 3 on raceday.
In the Kevin Hayes Stakes (Caulfield Race 2, 1200m), Sumakaray is the form horse in the race. The Brian Cox-trained filly has won 4 of the last 5 starts. She defeated ‘Avoid Lightning’ in her last start and that horse had come out and franked the form last week by winning the Listed Monjon Security W.J. Adams Stakes. Sumakaray has not started for five weeks but she is a good fresh horse having won 2 from 2 when fresh. Sumakaray looks the logical pick for this race.
In the Blue Diamond Prelude for Colts & Geldings (Caulfield Race 3, 1100m), Kuroshio and Dissident will resume their battle from the BD Preview two weeks ago. In the Preview, Dissident had just got up and beat Kuroshio by 0.3 lengths. There aren’t much between these two colts but there is a 2.5kg turnaround in weight in favour of Kuroshio on Saturday. On weight and measure, I have to tip Kuroshio to win the Prelude.
In the Blue Diamond Prelude for Fillies (Caulfield Race 4, 1100m), the two Peter Snowden-trained fillies, Guelph and Montsegur are going to fight out the finish. Guelph won impressively at Warwick Farm two weeks ago running good time, whereas Montsegur was slightly disappointed in the BD Fillies Preview two weeks ago finishing 6th. Kerrin McEvoy has ridden both fillies and has first choice on Snowden’s mounts and he opted for Guelph. That could well be a strong pointer for punters.
In the Group 1 C.F Orr Stakes (Caulfield Race 7, 1400m), star colt All Too Hard is a hot favourite at $2.30. Trainer John Hawkes mentioned during the week that it’s scary to think how much All Too Hard has improved since he ran 2nd in the Cox Plate. But he is facing some tough, seasoned WFA Group 1 performers like King Mufhasa, Wall Street, Pinwheel Mr. Moet and Mawingo and I believe the $2.30 for All Too Hard is under the odds. I like the 10 times Group 1 winner King Mufhasa. He won his last start in New Zealand over 1400m by 2.5 lengths. He’s a specialist over 1400m having won 6 times and placed a further 6 times from 19 starts. From barrier 1, Michael Rodd will take King Mufhasa straight to the lead and he could prove hard to run down. Currently at $4.50 fixed odds, King Mufhasa is my pick for the Orr Stakes.
By Owens Wong, Editor
