Wide draws Easter issue
Mabeel ($3.80) is the clear favourite to win Saturday’s Easter Stakes (1600m) at Ellerslie but a wide draw increases the difficulty of his task.
Luck in the running will determine the chances of several favoured candidates who also have wide draws to navigate.
Punters shopping for value have found Sakhee’s Soldier on the back of encouraging reports emanating from the Cambridge training centre where he is prepared by Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman.
Confidence in the camp that Sakhee’s Soldier can make it two Group I wins at Ellerslie evolve around his strong recent track gallops and a tidy fresh-up run for sixth.
Sakhee’s Soldier hasn’t won since he took the Group I NZ Stakes (2000m) at Ellerslie 13 months ago, but his run at Te Aroha a fortnight ago showed he was back.
‘‘His work has been really good, he’s going well and seems to be back back to his old self,’’ said Forsman.
The 5-year-old gelding underwent a bone chip operation after his Ellerslie win and recovery has gone well.
He has won eight of his 19 starts and strung together a memorable five wins on the trot earlier in his career culminating in wins in the Eagle Technology Stakes and Rich Hill Mile.
Under the set weights and conditions of the Easter Stakes, Sakhee’s Soldier will carry 58kg, 1kg below the topweight Julinsky Prince, and he will be ridden by Matt Cameron.
Julinsky Prince appears the horse in the Easter best suited by the set weights and penalties conditions. Formerly an open handicap, this will be the first running of the iconic feature under the new conditions. The change has left several other runners poorly off at the weights compared to handicap conditions. The Group I winner of the Windsor Park Plate and Captain Cook Stakes this season, Julinsky Prince is the top-rated runner in the field at 106.
In his last start the Darci Brahma gelding carried 59.5 kg into second place in the Japan-NZ International Trophy at Tauranga where he carried 7.5kg more than the winner Watch This Space.
On Saturday Julinsky Prince is still topweight with 59kg but Watch This Space has risen to 57kg. Abidewithme, Rasa Lila and Snapshot have caught the eye in their work at Matamata in recent days.
Abidewithme has thrived since her return to the Autridge and Richards stable after spending time with Peter Moody in Melbourne.
Trainer Graham Richardson feels Snapshot has drawn perfectly at four and will get track conditions to suit.
A firm surface will give Rasa Lila to unleash her powerful finishing sprint for jockey Leith Innes and trainers Steven Ramsay and Julia Ritchie. The Darci Brahma mare was hugely impressive two back winning the Cuddle Stakes and ran on well in the Thoroughbred Breeders at Te Aroha, a race won by Perfect Fit with Abidewithme second.
‘‘She got a bit too far back at Te Aroha but rounded the race off well,’’ Ramsay said. ‘‘Her work has been first class since and I suspect the speed will be genuine on Saturday which will suit her. She’s run well at Ellerslie and if she is within striking distance when they swing for home they will know she’s there.’’
Rasa Lila has won twice at Ellerslie and ran second to Stolen Dance at Group III level on the course earlier in the season.
Julinsky Prince is rated a $12 chance for the $200,000 feature, with Mabeel the $3.80 favourite ahead of Snapshot ($5.50), Abidewithme ($8.50), Sakhee’s Soldier ($9.50) and Rasa Lila ($9.50).