The landscape of the Spring Carnival’s two major Group 1 Classics has been significantly reshaped on Saturday with the emergence of two potent new contenders at Caulfield.
King Snitz has firmly put himself into Victoria Derby calculations after a dramatic last-stride win in the Caulfield Classic, while Quick Finish has surged up the Oaks betting charts following a tenacious victory over her rivals in the Ethereal Stakes.
Quick Finish, trained by the partnership of Tony and Calvin McEvoy, achieved her third consecutive win. Starting as a $15 outsider, she fought hard to achieve a narrow half-length victory over Your Colour ($9) in the $240,000 Group 3 event contested over 2000 metres.
Jye McNeil, who has been aboard the Grunt filly for all four of her career starts, from an initial fifth placing at Bendigo on July 30, through a maiden win at Ballarat Synthetic and an 1800m success at Caulfield, has been amazed by her rapid progression.
“Crazy to think we’ve come from a Ballarat Synthetic maiden to where we are today,” McNeil shared. “She’s a free-rolling horse who enjoys that role up in front and I was stoked with her performance.”
“She obviously stays. As the races have gotten longer, she’s really come into her own, each time the team has raised the bar she’s up for the challenge and hopefully we’re on the way to the Oaks.”
Quick Finish is now quoted at $8 for the Oaks on November 5, a 2500m race, with Sydney filly Proxima Dea ($4.50) and Your Colour ($6) ahead of her in the market, the latter impressing with her fast-finishing effort in the Ethereal.
Miss Waititi, once considered a leading Oaks favourite, has drifted to $15, and Fringilla – who began as the $2.90 favourite in the Ethereal Stakes – is now $11 after finishing fifth, beaten just under two lengths.
Fewer reputations were significantly challenged in the Caulfield Classic, also a Group 3 race over 2000m worth $240,000, where Vallice and Cignetti performed creditably in defeat.
They were relegated to minor placings, but both were beaten by less than a head behind King Snitz, a colt prepared by Shane Jackson, who has mirrored Quick Finish’s impressive development.
King Snitz made his debut on August 28, finishing third-last in a 1347m maiden at Geelong. He subsequently gained a placing at the same track over 1700m before a dominant 2000m maiden win at Warrnambool leading into the Caulfield Classic.
He now presents a genuine chance to give Snitzel, a champion sire celebrated for his sprinters, a Derby win, and Jackson confirmed the colt would be aimed at Flemington on October 31, provided his progress remains on track.
“The horse comes first rather than putting on the black and white suit, which I’d love to, and I’m sure Tony would too, but that’s the aim,” Jackson stated. “We’ll just see how he pulls up from this back down to the beach and wrap him in cotton wool and on to the next step.”
King Snitz and Vallice are currently sharing the $8 quote in Derby betting, alongside Diameter, trailing only True Rebel ($6). Cignetti is priced at $11.
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