Easter egg on offer for Mabeel
Wide draws have thrown a spanner in the works for several fancied runners in the Easter Stakes at Ellerslie tomorrow.
The iconic 1600m race is the final Group I of the season and has attracted a strong, capacity field, headed by proven elite level performer Julinsky Prince ($12).
Early favourite Mabeel (gate 19) is one affected by an unfavourable barrier while other favoured candidates Sakhee’s Soldier (16), Rasa Lila (17), Charmont (18) and Soubrettes (21) are others.
The burden will be eased slightly as the emergencies have all drawn inside them which will bring them in three slots.
Mabeel ($3.80) has won half of his 12 starts with four wins this season for trainers Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young.
His biggest win came in the Anniversary Handicap (1600m) at Trentham in January when ridden by Sam Spratt, who was also in the saddle for his last win and will again be aboard tomorrow.
He was super impressive in his latest win at Awapuni on a heavy track which takes the worry around the state of the track out of the equation.
‘‘He showed he can handle any type of track conditions so we don’t have to worry about that.
‘‘The draw is less than ideal but he has good tactical speed so Sam should be able to slot him in somewhere.
‘‘He has done super since his last race, his work has been good and I think he’ll be hard to beat.’’
A winning run in the Easter will open up options for Mabeel who will be part of the team his trainers will relocate to Cranbourne in July.
The Stradbroke Handicap at Eagle Farm on June 11 could be a possibility.
‘‘The owners have agreed to let us take him to Melbourne to be part of our team when we shift over there,’’ Busuttin said. ‘‘That’s a big plus for us and there will be plenty of options for him over there.’’
Abidewithme ($8.50) ran second in the Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes at Te Aroha last start just ahead of Soubrettes ($13) in third with Rasa Lila ($9.50) home late for sixth.
They are in form and in Rasa Lila’s case, she loves Ellerslie and will be fancied for that reason alone.
Snapshot ($5.50) has always looked a Group I horse in the making and his 1400m win at Te Aroha was impressive and indicated that trainer Graham Richardson has him primed for the big occasion.
He has drawn perfectly in gate four and jockey Craig Grylls should be able to position him to advantage.
Richardson would have loved some rain for his second runner Queens Rose ($26).
‘‘You can’t have it every way but a bit more rain would have been nice for her,’’ Richardson said.
‘‘Snapshot is very well, very fit but he is disadvantaged by the set weight. In a handicap he would carry just 52kg not the 55kg he has to lump.’’ running