The New Zealanders will make a double-barrelled attack on Saturday’s $150,000 Group 3 Blacktown Workers Hawkesbury Guineas (1400m).
In a race which is shaping as the highlight of a history-making $1million stand-alone meeting, Kiwi three-year-olds Beauty’s Beast and Katie’s Cove will be out to prevent outgoing Darley trainer Peter Snowden from clinching a Guineas hat-trick.
Snowden, who finishes his successful tenure with Darley at the Hawkesbury fixture, has prepared the last two Guineas winners in Free Wheeling (2012) and Limes last year. He has entered 21 horses for Hawkesbury – including four (Barbed, Safeguard, Sinjoren and Suit) – for the feature three-year-old event.
But the Kiwis are coming …
Silent Achiever’s trainer Roger James has booked expatriate New Zealand jockey Jason Collett for his promising filly Katie’s Cove, who is scheduled to make her Australian debut in the Guineas. The Zabeel filly has raced only five times and is unbeaten at two starts since resuming – both by hollow margins.
Katie’s Cove beat her own age and sex by three lengths in a Matamata Maiden (1200m) on April 2 and then clinched an Aussie trip in trouncing her rivals by four lengths in a Benchmark 65 Handicap (1400m) at Avondale last Friday. Leith Innes rode her in both wins.
Beauty’s Beast, following his impressive victory in the Listed-South Pacific Classic (1400m) at Randwick on April 19 during The Championships, has stayed on to contest the Guineas.
But trainer David Greene has to find a new rider as Hugh Bowman has taken up a contract in Hong Kong for the remainder of the season. Beauty’s Beast has built an outstanding record of five wins from only nine starts to date.
To complement the Kiwi mission, another New Zealand trainer now successfully based in Sydney, Bjorn Baker, has entered Fuerza and Twilight Royale for the Guineas.
Hawkesbury Race Club chief executive Brian Fletcher is delighted with the overall entries (143) for Saturday.
“The Guineas is outstanding,” Fletcher said. “Twenty-four horses have been nominated and it looks like being another great race. We probably would have liked a couple more entries in the Cup, and we have extended the closing deadline for that until 11am (Tuesday).
“But there’s still plenty of interest there with horses such as the exciting Leebaz, last year’s Rowley Mile winner Mouro, Gai Waterhouse’s The Great Snowman, Peter Moody’s Full Of Spirit and Peter Snowden’s Wistful.”
Hawkesbury missed the weekend’s rain which hit parts of Sydney, the Central Coast and Hunter and the track would have been a Good 3 if the meeting was being held (Monday).
“The forecast is good,” Fletcher said. “All our function areas are virtually booked out, and we’re heading for a bumper day.”
Hawkesbury will take the opportunity to pay tribute to Peter Snowden, who will be a special guest in the function centre: “It’s a perfect opportunity to thank Peter for the wonderful support he has given us during his time at Darley,” Fletcher said. “We will present him with his award for winning our trainer’s premiership last year for the fifth time.”
Snowden has trained at least one winner every year at the stand-alone meeting between 2008 and last year since he took over in November, 2007 from John Hawkes as trainer for Crown Lodge (subsequently sold to Darley).
– Hawkesbury Race Club