Local hope Geegees Goldengirl has drawn perfectly at barrier five in the 2018 Group 3 $250,000 Sky Racing Hobart Cup (2400m) at Hobart on Sunday.
Dee I Cee, above, is one of the main fancies for the 2018 Hobart Cup at Hobart. Photo by Steve Hart.
The final field of eleven is made up of mostly Tasmanian trained stayers as well as three from the mainland, Dee I Cee, Pretty Punk and Andrea Mantegna.
Popular Tassie jockey Sigrid Carr will maintain her association with Geegees Goldengirl after partnering her in three of her last four starts which included a third placing two starts back in an 1880m Handicap at Devonport on January 10 followed by a second to Hobart Cup rival Fastnet Dragon in the $50,000 Schweppes Summer Cup (2200m) at Hobart on January 28.
Brighton trainer Stuart Gandy said that Carr had a good understanding with the on pace runner and will be able to give Geegees Goldengirl every possible chance to win the Hobart Cup and keep the winning trophy in Tasmania.
“Barrier five is perfect for my mare because her rider Siggy Carr should be able to secure a good position in the race and hopefully just off the speed,” Gandy told Tasracing News.
Geegees Goldengirl is marked at the good odds of $13 on Thursday for the Hobart Cup at Ladbrokes.com.au who have the Darren Weir trained Andrea Mantegna as the $4 favourite.
Andrea Mantegna has also drawn nicely at barrier four and will be ridden by top Melbourne jockey Damian Lane.
Andrea Mantegna has been working his way up through the restricted ranks and heads to Hobart on the back of a last start win in a 2250m BenchMark 82 Handicap on the Morphettville Parks track at Adelaide.
On the second line of betting is the Barry Campbell trained Eastender who has firmed from $7 to $4.80 since the field was released yesterday and is just ahead of Dee I Cee and Pretty Punk at $5.
Eastender is the most favoured local in the betting with two wins from his last three starts and has drawn in the middle of the field at barrier six with Craig Newitt maintaining his association with the four year old.
The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott trained Dee I Cee draw in close at barrier two with Melbourne Cup winning jockey Corey Brown in the saddle while Pretty Punk was out of luck at the barrier draw, coming up with gate ten with Craig Williams taking the mount again.
