The Team Corstens trained Awesome Rock has been specked at long odds to win the Group 2 $200,000 Back To Caulfield P.B. Lawrence Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on Saturday.
Awesome Rock, above, has been specked at long odds in the P.B. Lawrence Stakes at Caulfield. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.
Awesome Rock opened at $34 when the final field was released on Wednesday and has firmed into $19 on Friday morning at Ladbrokes.com.au following plenty of support.
Regular rider Stephen Baster takes the mount again on Awesome Rock who has drawn barrier four in the in the field that has been reduced to fourteen runners following the scratching of the Robert Hickmott trained Nevis.
Awesome Rock is having his first run since failing to beat a runner home when fourteenth on an unsuitable soft 5 track in the Group 1 $4m Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick on April 9, the second day of ‘The Championships’.
But his followers could be off the mark as Awesome Rock has only been placed twice from his five first up appearances in the past.
The Fastnet Rock five year old has been a consistent Group performer since his two year old days with several placings in good company with his best performance being when he was first past the post before being relegated to second on protest to the Chris Waller trained Preferment in the Group 1 $1m Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington during the 2016 Melbourne Autumn Carnival.
The Darren Weir trained Mahuta heads the market order at $4.20 and has the advantage of having one run under his belt this campaign with a first up third to Lord Of The Sky in the Group 3 $150,000 Bletchingly Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on July 30.
Weir was happy with Mahuta’s first appearance since finishing fourteenth behind stablemate Palentino in the Group 1 $750,000 Australian Guineas (1600m) at Flemington on March 5 and expects the four year old to be in the finish again.
“I think he will be competitive anyway. He has come on since his first up run, the barrier is good, he will put himself in the race,” Weir told RSN’s Racing Ahead.
“I thought he ran great under the order he was in because he was still big and burly and hadn’t come through in the coat and we were really pleased with the way he went and the way he has pulled up and he has done really well since.”
On the second line of betting at $4.80 in the Group 1 winning mare Sauvito who will be having her first run back since running eleventh to Azkadellia in the Group 1 $1m Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on April 9.
The Nigel Blackiston trained Sauvito loves the 1400m at Caulfield and among her four wins from seven appearances over this course and distance are her first up victories at Group 1 level in the 2015 $400,000 Futurity Stakes and in the 2016 $500,000 Ladbrokes C.F. Orr Stakes.
Next in the betting is the Bletchingly Stakes winner Lord Of The Sky at who has been steady around the $6 mark ahead of Miss Rose De Lago at $7 and front running crowd favourite The Cleaner at $9.
P.B. Lawrence Stakes market order at Ladbrokes.com.au: $4.20 Mahuta, $4.80 Suavito, $6 Lord Of The Sky, $7 Miss Rose De Lago, $9 The Cleaner, $13 Jameka, $19 Jacquinot Bay, Awesome Rock, $26 Smokin’ Joey, Entirely Platinum, $31 Set Square, $51 Tall Ship, $61 Magnapal, $81 Berisha.
