The 2016 Ladbrokes Orr Stakes field has been released and an outstanding group of gallopers that includes 13 Group 1 winners are set to contest the feature event at Caulfield on Saturday.
Turn Me Loose will have the chance to record a fourth straight victory in Australia in the 2016 Ladbrokes Orr Stakes. Photo by: Ultimate Racing Photos
Turn Me Loose was one of the star performers of the 2015 Spring Racing Carnival and the gifted Kiwi galloper will have the opportunity to extend his winning streak in Australia after he was allocated barrier ten this morning.
The Iffraaj entire took out the Listed Seymour Cup (1600m) in his second race start in Australia and he went on to record impressive victories in both the Group 2 Crystal Mile (1600m) and Group 1 Emirates Stakes (1600m).
Lucky Hussler is yet another galloper that recorded a win at the highest level of racing during the spring and he will have the chance to turn-the-tables on Turn Me Loose after suffering defeats in the Crystal Mile and Emirates Stakes.
Darren Weir elected to send Lucky Hussler to Queensland for the $1 million Magic Millions Cup (1400m), which he won in comfortable fashion, and he will have a fitness edge over a number of his rivals when he jumps from barrier eight.
Another horse that will have a fitness edge over his rivals in the Orr Stakes is Rebel Dane, who will be returning to the track and venue where he recorded his only win at Group 1 level in the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes.
Rebel Dane returned to the races with a typically consistent third in the Group 2 Australia Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on January 23 and he finished in front of fellow Orr Stakes runners Hucklebuck, Mourinho and Trust In A Gust.
One of the most interesting runners in the 2016 Orr Stakes field is talented mare Suavito, who has not been seen at the races since April last year.
Suavito took out the Group 1 Futurity Stakes (1400m) and Group 2 Blamey Stakes (1600m) before she finished a credible seventh in the Group 1 Doncaster Mile (1600m) last autumn, but she missed the 2015 Spring Racing Carnival after she had knee surgery to remove a bone chip.
Veteran gelding Fawkner is normally saved for the spring and he has not had a race start in the autumn since he finished seventh behind Spirit Of Boom in the 2014 edition of the Group 1 William Reid Stakes (1200m), but the Macedon Lodge Team have elected to run him in the Orr Stakes.
Fawkner claimed another Group 1 victory in the Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on September 12 and he produced a surprisingly below par sixth in the Group 1 Ladbrokes Caulfield Stakes (2000m) before he returned to a semblance of his best form in the Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m).
He is joined in the Orr Stakes field by another eight-year-old in Happy Trails, who is set to contest the Orr Stakes for the second year in a row after finishing sixth behind Dissident last year.
Boban (barrier 13), Stratum Star (barrier 14) and Rising Romance (barrier 16) are the other Group 1 winners in the Orr Stakes field, while the race is rounded out by Bow Creek (barrier two), Messene (barrier five), Entirely Platinum (barrier nine), Red Bomber (barrier six), Awesome Rock (barrier 17) and Fenway (barrier three).
