WINTER WONDERS: TRAINER EDMONDS QUIETLY CONFIDENT ON RISING SPRINTER
Chapter And Verse and Cadogan hit the Stradbroke trail
THE Eagle Farm meeting on Saturday features three stakes races but a restricted class event will command attention from a winter carnival perspective.
Promising sprinters Chapter And Verse and Cadogan, who are set to resume from spells in the Class Six Plate (1200m), are being tipped as possible lightweight Stradbroke Handicap chances if they can progress through the winter.
The Group 1 Stradbroke (1400m) has a long history of being won by horses on the rise with a light weight.
Trainers Desleigh Forster (Chapter And Verse) and Toby Edmonds (Cadogan) are well aware the key is to get their horses to lift their ratings to get into the bigrace fields.
Chapter And Verse and Cadogan were two of the best-performed horses of the Brisbane summer and last raced on the Magic Millions day on the Gold Coast in January. Chapter And Verse won the 1300m Magic Millions QTIS race while Cadogan was an unlucky fourth in the Magic Millions Cup (1400m).
It took Chapter And Verse’s record to 12 starts for four wins and $745,000 prizemoney.
Brisbane-based Forster said Chapter And Verse had returned in good shape and she was looking forward to the winter.
“He has had a couple of jumpouts and the Plate conditions suit him,” she said. “I have also nominated him for the Victory Stakes (on Saturday) as a back-up and I will make a decision on Wednesday morning when I get a better idea of who is coming for the Victory and the weather.”
Cadogan has won six of his 27 starts including three in a row before his Magic Millions fourth.
Chapter And Verse finished second to him in two of those wins.
Gold Coast trainer Toby Edmonds said Cadogan had run on well in a trial last month and was ready for his return.
“He can run Saturday and we will go from there,” he said.
There were 37 entries taken yesterday for the Plate.
The Group 2 Victory Stakes (1200m) attracted 11 nominations headed by dual Everest winner Redzel.
Other southern state entries for the race include Jonker, the 2016 Doomben 10,000 winner Music Magnate and I Am Excited.