SUN SETS ON BATTLE
RACING: The stellar showdown between champion Winx and her heir apparent The Autumn Sun is off – for now.
Trainer Chris Waller and part-owner John Messara have confirmed crack colt The Autumn Sun will have his next start in the Group 1 $600,000 Rosehill Guineas (2000m) on Golden Slipper Day.
Super mare Winx will also be racing at the Golden Slipper meeting on March 23. It is expected she will contest the Group 1 $1 million George Ryder 11aNmN N-1o2o.3n0-1p.3 m 0p(AmE : SFT 1 )fi : rFst1 firsp t rpacrtaict e ics e sseiosnsion 4pm-5.30pm: F1 second 3pm-4.30pm (AEST): F1 practice session second practice session -3p(AmE : 1t )h ir1d rapcrtai e ssieosnsion pm(A : 1 idF1 uqaulifaylinfyging 1 F1 dripvaerrasd ’ eparade 3N.N104p.1m0p-5m.1- 0 6.(1A0EpSmT): F1 Australliian GGrraann d PPrirxix (58 laps or 120 minutes) rs’ Stakes (1500m) but the Group 1 $700,000 Ranvet Stakes (2000m) is also an option.
There has been plenty of speculation about a possible clash between the nation’s two best racehorses in the George Ryder Stakes since The Autumn Sun’s spectacular Randwick Guineas win last Saturday.
But Messara said there was a desire to stretch The Autumn Sun out to 2000m to test the super colt’s stamina reserves.
If The Autumn Sun shows he can run a strong 2000m, then it leaves the door ajar for a clash with Winx in the Group 1 $4 million Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes over that distance at Royal Randwick on April 13.
“The decision has been made to race The Autumn Sun in the Rosehill Guineas,” Messara said.
“This race will show whether he can extend to 2000m. I’m looking forwards to seeing him over a middle distance but I am mindful he has been brilliant over 1200m, 1400m and 1600m.
“He’s very versatile and we assume he will get 2000m but we would like to see it happen.”
Waller released a statement yesterday outlining immediate race plans for The Autumn Sun.
“He has come through his victory in the Randwick Guineas without issue and recovered well from the run,” Waller said of The Autumn Sun.
“Following discussions between the owners and I (on Tuesday), it has been decided that he will now progress to the Group 1 Rosehill Guineas on March 23.
“There were various options available for his next run, however it was agreed that stepping to the untested trip of 2000m will open up further race options for him during the autumn.”
Messara admitted the Rosehill Guineas is shaping as the pivotal race for The Autumn Sun.
“After that race, we will regroup and decide where we go from there,’’ he said. RUGBY UNION: The team that bakes cookies together, wins together.
That statement appears nowhere in any coaching manual or player manifesto. But at the Melbourne Rebels, where offfield bonds are helping to build something special on-field, cookies are playing an important role.
And for winger Jack Maddocks, Tuesday nights are nearly as exciting as game day, because that’s “cookie club” night.
The 22-year-old is the equalleading try-scorer in Super Rugby this season having crossed the line five times – including two doubles – in the Rebels’ three games, all wins.
Maddocks has reaped the benefits of the move to an up-tempo game plan, as well as the sublime passing of new flyhalf Quade Cooper who fed him for both tries against the Brumbies last week.
But Maddocks, a former star junior cricketer who moved to Melbourne from Sydney as a 19-year-old, said the “positive vibe” at the club was being fed by off-field gatherings where players were acting as each other’s family.
“It’s not like we have to make a deliberate attempt to get to know each other. We just all really enjoy each other’s company, and when we finish training we all want to hang out,” Maddocks said.
Some players have formed a curry club which involves visits to different Indian restaurants around Melbourne. But Maddocks is in the cookie club, which he also hosts.
“Everyone comes around to my place on a Tuesday night and we bake a different kind of cookie every week,” he said.
“We play board games, watch movies and just chill out. The cookie is just an excuse to get together.” — Russell Gould