There is plenty of value to be found in Saturday’s Lexus Newmarket Handicap.
One of the biggest questions heading into the race will whether reborn star Lankan Rupee go on and complete the Oakleigh Plate / Newmarket Handicap double. He’s won five of his last six starts since being gelded and the Mick Price-trained galloper has simply been on fire this preparation. In fact, the only time he’s been beaten since getting the chop was when he ran third at Moonee Valley on October 25 and it was found that he had the thumps!
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The gelding heads into Saturday’s race off the back of an effortless win in the Oakleigh Plate at Caulfield a fortnight ago. Importantly, he rises a half kilo in weight and while that ordinarily wouldn’t make much a difference, the horses who placed behind him that day (Spirit Of Boom and Knoydart) are served much better at the weights this time around. Lankan Rupee has won four from five on Good tracks and figured in the placings in six of nine on Dead tracks, so the conditions at Flemington on Saturday shouldn’t be a concern. The Newmarket is 100 metres longer than the Oakleigh Plate and over the 1200 metres, he has won and placed from four starts. Chad Schofield will take over the ride from regular rider, Craig Newitt. A winner of seven from 14 starts he is definitely the one to beat.
The biggest threat to him could come in the form of stablemate, Samaready. The brilliant mare and former Blue Diamond winner was an eye-catching third to Snitzerland in the Lightning Stakes on February 15. Prior to that it was assumed she went slightly amiss in the Manikato Stakes behind Buffering where she started a hot favourite. There is no doubting the class of the daughter of More Than Ready. She has won three and placed once from five starts at the distance, is a winner on a Good track and boasts an outstanding five wins from six starts on Dead going. Craig Newitt will ride the four-year-old in place of Lankan Rupee.
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The other main contender in betting is Shamexpress. A winner of this race last year, Shamexpress rattled home to just miss out in the Lightning behind Snitzerland but it was a run that definitely caught the eye. With Snitzerland off and gone in the concluding stages, Shamexpress was the one that broke clear of the chasing pack to make up plenty of ground late. The extra 200 metres of this race will definitely play into his hands. Boasting a top record at Flemington of two wins and two placings from four starts, the son of Oreilly is considered one of the best sprinters in Australia and will be a huge chance of going back-to-back in this. There is very little separating the top three in betting with their prices ranging from $4.40 to $4.60.
Moment Of Change could be a bit of value at $9.00. Runner-up in this race last year behind Shamexpress, the Peter Moody-trained star is in dashing form going into this. He’s won back-to-back Group Ones in the CF Orr and Futurity and has either won or placed in 16 of his 21 starts. The five-year-old is adaptable to all sorts of conditions and has a consistent record at Flemington. There is absolutely no reason why he can’t take this out. He won the CF Orr and Futurity with 59 kilograms on his back and actually gets a one kilogram relief here, but will have to give the likes of Lankan Rupee two-and-a-half kilos with a three kilo difference in the favour of Samaready.
The Newmarket isn’t the only feature on the card with the Group One Darley Australian Cup set to steal some of the spotlight. All the hype will be around two of the main winners from Spring clashing in this race – Fiorente and Shamus Award. Melbourne Cup winner Fiorente tuned up for this one with a hard fought victory in the Peter Young Stakes a fortnight ago. It was the Gai Waterhouse stable star’s first run since taking out the Cup in November and after looking unlikely rounding the home turn, he hit the line powerfully to knock off roughie Mourayan, who kept whacking away on the inside.
The Cox Plate winner, Shamus Award, will carry 54.5 kilograms and is four-and-a-half kilos better served than Fiorente. He won the Australian Guineas last week when leading. The last time Shamus Award and Fiorente clashed was in the Cox Plate last year when they went toe-to-toe for the majority of the race, before finishing first and third respectively.
In Sydney, Warwick Farm will be the venue for the Group One Chipping Norton Stakes. Another sensational clash looms with It’s A Dundeel taking on Boban over the 1600 metres. It’s A Dundeel is first-up since finishing eighth in the Cox Plate back in October but he did warm up for this assignment with soft two length barrier trial win at Randwick on February 24. Boban hasn’t been flattering in two runs back from a spell for trainer Chris Waller. The Emirates Stakes and Epsom winner has been unplaced behind Appearance in the Expressway and Apollo in recent weeks.This is definitely D-Day for him.
