Gai Waterhouse’s smart mare Driefontein gets her chance to win a Morphettville hat trick after coming up with a favourable barrier draw in the Group 1 $500,000 The Tapestry Wines Goodwood (1200m) at Morphettville on Saturday.
Driefontein has been marked the new $6.50 favourite in a wide betting race after drawing barrier three in the capacity twenty horse field, plus two emergencies.
Waterhouse has campaigned Driefontein in Adelaide during the Autumn Carnival and the Fastnet Rock mare has really relished racing on the Morphettville track while being trained out of Flemington in Melbourne.
“I sent her south a few weeks ago to let her acclimatise and get used to the opposite way of racing,” Waterhouse said.
Melbourne jockey Vlad Duric will ride Driefontein again on Saturday after steering her to an one and a quarter lengths win over Platelet in the Group 3 $115,000 R N Irwin Stakes (1100m) on April 12 and then the pair teamed up for an all the way win over Platelet again in the Group 1 $400,000 Sportingbet Classic (1200m), formerly known as the Robert Sangster Stakes, at Morphettville on April 26.
Flemington stable foreman Roger Elliot said that he wasn’t surprised that Duric took Driefontein straight to the front when no one else wanted to lead in the Sportingbet Classic.
“She races good like that, she relaxed pretty good, so it was great,” Elliot said.
“She is doing really well at Flemington and she really enjoys it.”
Of the main Goodwood fancies, Driefontein and local filly Miracles Of Life (barrier 2) fared best at the barrier draw with Melbourne sprinter Sistine Demon losing his spot at the top of the market order after coming up with the horror draw of twenty, but could jump from eighteen if the two emergencies don’t get a run
The Andrew Noblet trained Sistine Demon is still likely to use his early speed to cross the field and is on the second line of betting at $7 while Miracles Of Life and last year‘s winner Platelet (barrier 17) has been marked at $7.50.
Sistine Demon is going for three wins on the trot and boom apprentice Jamie Kah has the mount again after steering the Excites gelding to a six length win in the Group 3 $150,000 Race-Tech Victoria Handicap (1400m) at Caulfield on April 19.
