The heavy 9 track rating for Rosehill Guineas Day today has seen an above average number of scratchings, but the three Group 1s have only three runners withdrawn.
Snitzerland is the most notable scratching from the Rosehill Guineas meeting. Photo by Race Horse Photos Australia.
A total of eighteen horses have been scratched from the nine race program, the most notable being the Gerald Ryan trained Snitzerland who was going to start favourite for the Group 1 $400,000 Bloodstock.com.au Galaxy (1100m).
Ryan didn’t want to risk running the Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning winner on a heavy track and will now send her into the Group 1 $2.5m Darley T J Smith Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on April 12 without another run.
After winning the Group 1 $500,000 Black Caviar Lightning (1000m) at Flemington on February 15, Snitzerland returned to Sydney to run second to Villa Verde in the Group 2 $400,000 Challenge Stakes (1000m) at Randwick on March 15.
“She has trialed on heavy ground before and gone alright, but trials are completely different to races,” Ryan told Sky Racing HQ.
“When she has trialed or worked on it they have always held onto her head so you can’t really get a true guide on it.
“The worst track she has been on was in Adelaide (for the Robert Sangster Classic) where she drew the fence and pulled up with a problem.”
The Group 1 $500,000 tab.com.au Rosehill Guineas (2000m) has been reduced by two with the scratchings of Kiwi colt Atlante and Cranbourne trained Late Charge.
The Murray Baker trainer Atlante was rated a $15 before he came out while Late Charge was one of the roughies at $31.
The Group 1 $1m George Ryder Stakes (1500m) is free of scratchings and the full field of fifteen will go around.
The John O’Shea trained filly Veloce Forte was one of the main fancies for the Group 2 $175,000 IRT Magic Night Stakes (1200m) but will not go around on the heavy track.
The Group 2 $175,000 Bowermans Office Furniture Pago Pago Stakes (1200m) field has been reduced to nine runners following the early scratchings of Mr Bogart and Redoutable Heart and the race morning withdrawal of longshot Yancha Boy.
The Group 3 $150,000 Hyland Race Colours Birthday Card Stakes (1200m) has lost early favourite Lilliburlero, Miss Stellabelle and Villa Splendido and the Listed $125,000 Randwick Equine Centre Darby Munro Stakes (1200m) has lost Open Book, Havana and Calming Influence.
The opening race, the Group 3 Ambassador Travel N E Manion Cup (2400m) has been the hardest hit with three of the eight runners cominig out, Permit, Junoob and Vaquera while the last race on the program, the Group 3 $150,000 Percy Sykes Tribute Stakes (1900m) will have a field of thirteen following the scratchings of Diamond Drille and Angel Of Mercy.
