Villiers Stakes day: Kimberley Star a lone hope for Waterhouse

Bookmakers barely rate Kimberley Star, but there is enough uncertainty attached to the richest race on Villiers Stakes day for the Gai Waterhouse stable not to dismiss her chances.

Waterhouse’s only runner at Randwick on Saturday after planned returns for stable stars Driefontein and Spurtonic were scrapped, Kimberley Star is a $15 chance in the $250,000 Inglis Nursery.

The Nursery is a race restricted to graduates of the Inglis sale ring and it has attracted 17 acceptors. More than half of them are first starters.

Run for the first time in 2009, the Nursery’s honour roll received a significant upgrade when subsequent Golden Slipper winner Mossfun won last year’s edition.

But not all sales-related races are blessed with such quality and Waterhouse’s assistant Mark Newnham is counting on that factor to give Kimberley Star her chance.

“Last year you get the Golden Slipper Mossfun but when we won the Inglis Classic with Marseille Roulette he was having his first start,” Newnham said.

“They can be funny races.”

Marseille Roulette won as an $8 chance but Kimberley Star is almost double that quote after a debut placing at Newcastle.

The Ron Quinton-trained Let’s Make It Rain is favourite to break through at his second start.

Let’s Make It Rain raced outside the leader and was claimed late when runner-up to Godolphin colt Sampeah at Rosehill last month.

Of the 10 youngsters scheduled to make their debuts, Hawkes Racing’s Sun Flash has the most support.

Sun Flash is a Northern Meteor colt which fared better in his barrier trial outing than stablemate Mossfun did before she won the Nursery on debut.

Article from justhorseracing.com.au

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