Five San Domenico Stakes Rivals for Capitalist

Star colt Capitalist will face just five rivals when he returns to racing at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Saturday’s San Domenico Stakes.

Capitalist

The Peter & Paul Snowden-trained Capitalist has scared away all but five rivals for his first-up run in the San Domenico Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday. Photo: Daniel Costello.

The Peter & Paul Snowden-trained Golden Slipper winning son of Written Tycoon has scared off all but five other runners for this season’s edition of the $150,000 Group 3 Smithfield RSL Club San Domenico Stakes (1100m).

The race comes a week after his preferred first-up run in the weight-for-age Group 2 Missile Stakes (1200m), which Capitalist was scratched from last Saturday due to a badly rain-affected Randwick track.

He is tracking towards a Rosehill run in the $1 million Group 1 Golden Rose Stakes (1400m) on September 10, but first is out to become the first Golden Slipper – San Domenico Stakes double winner in a quarter of a century.

Blake Shinn reunites with the $3.5 million earner first-up on the weekend from barrier four with Capitalist carrying 60kg, the most he’s ever had on his back over his career.

Despite the big weight and the hoodoo he needs to overcome to win, the past three Golden Slipper Stakes winners failing to win a subsequent race, Capitalist is dominating San Domenico Stakes markets as the odds-on favourite.

Drawn one on his outside in barrier five is the undefeated Tango Rain who has the jockey that was on standby to ride Capitalist on the feather weight in the Missile Stakes, Kerrin McEvoy, aboard.

Local horseman Gerald Ryan prepares the Manhattan Rain colt who has won both of his career starts to date at Canterbury Racecourse.

Tango Rain’s last start was on July 23 on a Heavy (8) track where he and McEvoy combined for a smart one and three quarter length victory over subsequent Listed The Rosebud winner Thronum.

The outside alley for this season’s San Domenico Stakes belongs to the other best in betting, the Hawkes Racing-trained Star Turn.

Ace Sydney jockey Tommy Berry jumps on the Star Witness colt first-up on the weekend after guiding him to back-to-back Sydney trial wins in the lead-up.

Berry also rode Star Turn for his first two career starts last October including an 1100m win by three lengths at Randwick over Medaille.

The horse went on to finish runner-up in the Group 3 Blue Diamond Prelude (1100m) first-up in mid-February, fifth to Extreme Choice in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) and then sixth last time out to Capitalist in the Golden Slipper.

Having his first run down under is the Tony Noonan-trained Kiwi expat Manolo Blahniq (2), a Group 3 winner back in New Zealand and son of the 2011 Cox Plate runner-up Jimmy Choux.

The rails run meanwhile belongs to the only filly taking on the boys in this year’s San Domenico Stakes, the Joe Pride-trained daughter of Foxwedge Kentucky Miss.

She is also accepted in a field of 16 three-year-old fillies at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne on Saturday for the $150,000 Group 3 Quezette Stakes (1100m), but Pride believes she can hold her own in the San Domenico.

The last acceptor sure to get some attention from the punters is the now Gary Moore-trained Mount Panorama who jumps from barrier three with Tim Clark booked for the ride.

The son of Sebring remains a maiden after four career runs last season, but had an impressive autumn that included a trio of Group third place finishes.

The last of those was on March 12 at Rosehill in the Group 2 Pago Pago Stakes (1200m) and he has since won a Gosford trial with Clark in the saddle at the start of the month.

About The Author

Lucy Henderson

Lucy is an experienced horse racing journalist that has been a crucial member of the horseracing.com.au team for the better part of a decade. She has taken great delight in covering champion mares Black Caviar and Winx throughout their careers and always has a soft spot for a winning filly.