Four of Godolphin’s Golden Slipper hopefuls are set to clash in the Listed $125,000 DX Solutions Lonhro Plate (1100m) at Randwick on Saturday.
Furnaces,above, is one of four Godolphin owned two year olds running in the Lonhro Plate at Randwick. Photo by Steve Hart.
Fillies Calaverite and Igraine and colts Furnaces and Haptic will all line up in the twelve horse two year old field under the set weights plus penalties conditions.
The Godolphin team, prepared by trainer John O’Shea, has a huge number of youngsters heading towards the Group 1 $3.5m Tooheys New Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill on March 21 and Saturday’s race will start to sort out who will be a real Group 1 contender.
Exceed And Excel colt Furnaces is the highest of the quartet in the Golden Slipper market order with Ladbrokes.com.au and is on the third line of betting at $10 with Calaverite and Haptic at $17 while Igraine is listed as a $34 chance.
Furnaces was a six and a quarter lengths winner at his only start in October over 1100m in a two year old race at Rosehill and has recently won a 903m Rosehill barrier trial in preparation for his return to the race track.
Premiership winning rider James McDonald takes the mount on Furnaces who will jump from barrier five.
Calaverite is also having her first run back from a spell after being sent out following her debut win in the Listed $100,000 Keeneland Gimcrack Stakes (1000m) at Randwick on October 4.
The Lonhro filly was third in a recent 903m Rosehill barrier trial with race day jockey Sam Clipperton and will jump from the outside of the twelve horse field.
Haptic, another colt by Exceed And Excel, scored as favourite at his first race start over 1000m at Randwick on January 24 and has Blake Shinn taking over from McDonald and has drawn nicely at gate three.
The last of the Godolphin runners is Igraine, who is yet to win a race, but the Denman filly has been placed twice at Stakes level, once when second behind Calaverite in the Gimcrack Stakes and more recently a third to the Gerald Ryan trained Fireworks in the Group 3 $150,000 Widden Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill on January 31.
Christain Reith takes the ride on Igraine who has also drawn well at barrier four.
The Gary Portelli trained Sebring Sun has won a 803m Warwick Farm barrier trial since running third to Haptic on January 24 but will get no favours from barrier ten.
The Peter and Paul Snowden trained pair have come up with contrasting barriers with Pride Of Dubai drawing the rails while Wolf Cry has drawn worse than midfield at gate eight.
Pride Of Dubai has also accepted at Caulfield and has drawn barrier seven in the Group 3 $150,000 Blue Diamond Prelude (C&G) (1100m) with Damian Brown listed to ride the Street Cry colt.
The Snowdens will decide later in the week if Pride Of Dubai will travel to Melbourne for the weekend or stay at home at Randwick.
