The 2017 The BMW Form Guide is essential reading for racing fans and punters ahead of the feature race at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday afternoon.
Caulfield Cup winner Jameka is favourite to win The BMW at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos
The BMW has drawn a talent-rich field of nine stayers this year and we have analysed every runner in detail, in order to help you find The BMW winner.
Our Ivanhowe will back up from his dominant first-up win in the Ranvet Stakes last weekend, but faces a tough task in the likes of Humidor, Jameka and Tavago in The BMW.
Our Ivanhowe
Our Ivanhowe returned to the races for a dominant win in the Group 1 Ranvet Stakes (2000m) last weekend and will be extremely tough to beat if he repeats that effort in The BMW. The Solider Hollow entire won the Group 1 Doomben Cup (2000m) on class in 2016, but he has been waiting for wet tracks and this could very well be his season if Sydney’s inclement weather continues. Drawn ideally to find a position off the pace, Our Ivanhowe will only improve at a mile and a half and is a live chance of winning The BMW.
Exospheric
The second runner for Lee & Anthony Freedman in The BMW field, Exospheric has returned to racing in typically smart form this time and is not without a chance on Saturday, at healthy odds. Debuting in Australia for third in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) before running a credible eighth in the Melbourne Cup (3200m), Exospheric clearly required a run when sixth in the Group 1 Peter Young Stakes (1800m) first-up this time, but worked to the line particularly well in the Group 1 Australian Cup (2000m) last time out and was arguably the run of the race. He will also be better at a mile and a half.
Who Shot Thebarman
There has been plenty to like about what Who Shot Thebarman has produced this time in and he will come into more favourable territory when he lines up for The BMW. The Yamanin Vital gelding was a typically excellent performer in the major spring staying races and returned to the line for a smart third behind Winx in the Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) on February 25th. Luckless when checked in transit before finishing sixth in the Group 3 Sky High Stakes (2000m) a fortnight ago, Who Shot Thebarman should be right in the finish of The BMW.
Grand Marshal
Grand Marshal is yet to produce much through his two starts this time and overcoming the talented field in The BMW is probably a bridge too far for the horse this weekend. The seven-year-old will undoubtedly find his best opportunity this season when he returns to two miles in the Group 1 Sydney Cup (3200m) during The Championships.
Libran
Libran was one of the standout stayers of last year’s Autumn Carnival, but he is yet to find that form this time in and will need to carry plenty of improvement into The BMW if he is any hope. The Lawman gelding clearly relished a step up in distance when he finished fourth in the Sky High Stakes a fortnight ago. Regular hoop Brenton Avdulla has instead elected to ride Lasqueti Spirit in The BMW and that could suggest that Libran still has some improvement to make before he is in peak condition.
Humidor
Humidor stormed home to win the Australian Cup at his most recent start and he will be very tough to beat in The BMW once more on Saturday. A former Kiwi galloper, Humidor debuted in Australia for a credible fourth in the Listed John Dillon Stakes (1400m) in late January and finished second in each of the Group 3 Carlyon Cup (1600m) and the Peter Young Stakes before winning the Australian Cup. Drawn ideally and with Damian Lane in the saddle once more, Humidor is primed for another outstanding performance in The BMW.
Tavago
Tavago is a Group 1 winner at the distance of The BMW, carries winning form into the race and is a proven performer under both good and heavy conditions. Having debuted in Australia for a dominant win in the Group 1 Australian Derby (2400m) last autumn, the Tavistock gelding did not come up in the spring, but returned this time for fifth in the Chipping Norton Stakes before beating a number of rivals in The BMW with complete ease in the Sky High Stakes last time out.
Jameka
Caulfield Cup winner Jameka appears to have reached peak condition in ideal time for The BMW and is a deserving favourite to win the feature race. Having posted her first Group 1 win in the 2015 edition of the Crown Oaks, the daughter of Myboycharlie undoubtedly found her best form to date through the recent Spring Carnival, but her three performances this season suggest that she is still up to that mark. The BMW is an ideal race for her, she’s drawn ideally in barrier 2 and has the notable advantage of Hugh Bowman in the saddle.
Lasqueti Spirit
Lasqueti Spirit will return to her ideal conditions in The BMW, for the first time since she stunned the Australian racing fraternity with an incredible start-to-finish performance to record a dominant win in the Group 1 Crown Oaks (2500m) in November. Trainer Lee Curtis has revealed that he will instruct Avdulla to take up the running on the filly in The BMW and if she can handle the soft track, there is nothing to say she cannot open an unbeatable gap on her rivals once more, with a light weight.
