The Rosehill Guineas and The Galaxy will be run this weekend at Rosehill. The track was rated a Good 3 on Thursday and with fine weather forecast. the track should remain at Good 3 on raceday.
Melbourne racing will be held at Caulfield this Saturday. The track was rated a Dead 4 on Thursday and with showers predicted, the track will be in the Dead range on raceday.
In the Darby Munro Stakes (Sydney Race 1, 1200m), the Anthony Cummings-trained She’s A Fox is likely to start in this race while she is only 4th emergency in The Galaxy. She’s A Fox is a quality filly with a good turn of foot. Her last start 3rd in Melbourne was a good effort as the Flemington straight track may not really suit her. From barrier 4, Peter Robl should be able to tuck her just behind the pace and get a cushy run. Ichihara is also a quality filly and she carried 58kg to win last start at Warwick Farm beating Heart Testa. However her wide gate (barrier 12 into 11 after scratching) could create some problem for Bowman. And it’s hard to see Heart Testa turning the table on Ichihara as Heart Testa has to carry more weight on Saturday due to the race condition. She’s A Fox will get a nice run in transit and she’s my pick for this race.
In the Group 1 Rosehill Guineas (Sydney Race 6, 2000m), with the scratching of Fiveandahalfstar, It’s A Dundeel is all the rage. Originally I was thinking Fiveandahalfstar could beat It’s a Dundeel with a slow pace in this race according to my speed map. But now, there is nothing there to beat the New Zealander. It’s A Dundeel was very impressive winning the Randwick Guineas last start showing a surprising turn of foot to beat Proisir. The step up to 2000m and a more spacious track could only suit him better. It’s A Dundeel will be long odds on but he will win.
In the Group 1 The Galaxy (Sydney Race 7, 1100m), even with the scratching of top weight Hay List, the race is still full of quality. The John O’Shea-trained Group 1 winning mare Sea Siren is resuming after her Hong Kong campaign. She has a great 1st up record and has drawn beautifully at barrier 2. However O’Shea has indicated that Sea Siren is a little behind schedule in her preparation. Maybe that’s an indication that she is actually aiming at the Brisbane winter carnival and tries to win back-to-back Doomben 10,000.
On the other hand, Gerald Ryan has Snitzerland back in work since January and has been putting the foundation on the filly for this preparation. And Snitzerland duly broke the course record in the Challenge Stakes (1000m) at Warwick Farm 1st up, running 56.16 seconds. There isn’t much speed in this year’s edition of The Galaxy, so I expect Corey Brown to take Snitzerland to the leading bunch. The filly is primed to run the 1100m and with a reasonably soft run in front, she will kick away from the field in the straight. Currently at $3.50 fixed odds, I believe that is still a good bet for Snitzerland.
By Owens Wong, Editor
