Starlight Stakes favourite Our Bay Malachi is one of five rides top Melbourne based jockey Dwayne Dunn has at Rosehill on Saturday.
Our Boy Malachi is one of five rides Dwayne Dunn has at Rosehill. Photo by Daniel Costello.
Dunn is the regular rider for the Hawkes Team in Melbourne and had an outstanding Melbourne Spring Carnival claiming the Spring Jockey’s Premiership which was calculated on 3-2-1 points system from mid-September until the Zipping Classic Race Day at Sandown on November 15.
Team Hawkes has lured Dunn to Sydney for Saturday’s Rosehill meeting with four rides while Peter Moody has also snapped up the top jockey for last start Moonee Valley winner Metaphorical in the Listed $100,000 ATC Cup (2000m).
Dunn’s other rides for Team Hawkes are two year old debutant Rageese in the $85,000 tab.com.au Plate (1100m), last start Canterbury winner Lockroy in the $85,000 De Bortoli Wines Handicap (1200m) and Mecir in the Listed $100,000 Festival Stakes (1500m).
Our Boy Malachi looks the pick of the rides for Dunn and has been installed the clear cut $2.50 favourite with Ladbrokes.com.au for the Listed $100,000 Starlight Stakes (1100m).
The former North Queensland galloper arrived at the Hawkes’ Rosehill stables with an imposing record of thirteen wins from fifteen starts in Queensland and lived up to his reputation at his first start for the stable with a one and a quarter lengths win in the $85,000 Turner Freeman Lawyers Flying over 1100m at Rosehill on November 1.
While top North Queensland jockey Adrian Coome had been on Our Boy Malachi for the majority of his starts, Sydney jockey Jay Ford claimed the winning ride at Rosehill.
Our Boy Malachi is an on pace runner and Dunn will probably let the six year old slide forward from an outside gate.
Trainer David Pfieffer is expecting a top performance in the Starlight Stakes from his mare Cradle Me who is coming off two solid runs over the Melbourne Spring Carnival.
Cradle Me ran second in the Listed $120,000 Polytrack Alinghi Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield on October 18 before finishing fifth in the Group 3 $200,000 G.H. Mumm Stakes (1100m) at Flemington on November 6.
“She is going well; she had two runs in Melbourne during the Carnival and I thought both runs were pretty good and last preparation she had a near flawless prep being very competitive over that 1100 at Rosehill,” Pfieffer told Racing Ahead.
“Hopefully she can bring some of that form with her on Saturday.”
Cradle Me is marked at $10 while others in the betting for the Starlight Stakes are the Gerald Ryan trained Dothraki at $6 and Shamalia and Lilliberluro at $8.50.
Of Dunn’s other rides, Lockroy looks to have claims and is a $3.40 chance in the BenchMark 71 while Metaphorical is also well in the market at $5.50 in the ATC Cup.
Rageese, a colt by Street Cry, has had one barrier trial for a third over 808m at Warwick Farm and is marked at $6 in the two year old race while Mecir is one of the outsiders at $26 in the Festival Stakes.
