Echo Gal’s Flight Stakes Odds Shorten

Promising filly Echo Gal is now into 2014 Flight Stakes odds of $13 and has been the best backed runner in betting markets for the Group 1 event that will be held at Royal Randwick this afternoon.

Echo Gal finished second behind Kuro in the 2014 Heritage Stakes at Royal Randwick on September 20.

Echo Gal finished second behind Kuro in the 2014 Heritage Stakes at Royal Randwick on September 20. Photo by: Steve Hart

Echo Gal opened at a quote of $17 when the Flight Stakes field was released on Wednesday, but has received plenty of support in the last 24 hours to give trainer Gai Waterhouse her eighth win in the race.

The Stratum filly defied a massive betting drift to started her spring preparation with a narrow win in the Ranvet Handicap (1100m) at Canterbury on August 6 and she made it two wins from as many starts this preparation at the same venue on September 3.

Echo Gal returned to stakes level in the Group 3 Sheraco Stakes (1200m) and she tired late to finish 1th behind Catkins, but she returned to her best form with a second place finish behind Kuro in the Listed Heritage Stakes (1100m) at Royal Randwick on September 20.

Waterhouse has had a high opinion of Echo Gal since she made her racing debut with an impressive four lengths win at Warwick Farm at the end of last year and the leading Sydney trainer is happy with the condition of the three-year-old heading into the Group 1 Flight Stakes (1600m) this morning.

“She has funnily enough been a market mover in all her runs, but not moving in, moving out,” Waterhouse told Sky Racing HQ this morning.

“Punters just haven’t liked her for whatever reason.

“I absolutely love her, I love her because she has speed and I love her because she is a beautiful, big rangy filly and I can’t fault her.”

Echo Gal has never run in a race further than 1200 metres, but Waterhouse is confident that the filly will have no problems stepping up to the mile in the Flight Stakes.

Waterhouse pointed out that Echo Gal’s dam Pink Siris won over 1850 metres and was placed in the Listed Strutt Stakes (2100m) in Hobart in 2009 and believes that the three-year-old gives her every indicating that the extra distance will be no issue.

“Her mother won over 1850 and I don’t think that she will have any problem at all running the 1600 metres,” Waterhouse said.

“She is only against her own age and sex and that is the most important thing.

“I had the option of running her in the Roman Consul or the Flight, but I thought that the Flight was more winnable.”

First Seal ($2.40) remains favourite in the Flight Stakes betting market with Ladbrokes Australia from Winx ($2.90) and Thinking Of You ($4.60).

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Thomas Hackett

Thomas is a passionate and opinionated racing journalist and punter who has been obsessed with horse racing since he backed Saintly to win the 1996 Melbourne Cup. An international racing enthusiast, he has his finger on the pulse of racing news not just from Australia but all around the world.