This season’s leading Group 1 winning jockey Nash Rawiller believes that the J.J. Atkins favourite Brazen Beau will go on to be one of the main Spring Carnival contenders this year.
Brazen Beau will be hard to beat in the J.J. Atkins at Eagle Farm. Photo by Daniel Costello.
Brazen Beau, with Rawiller in the saddle, burst onto the Brisbane Winter Carnival scene with a stunning win in the Group 2 $175,000 Bollinger Champagne Classic (1200m) at Doomben on May 10.
The Chris Waller trained two year old was then sent out the odds on favourite in the Group 2 $250,000 Mitavite BRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1350m) at Doomben on May 24 but bungled the start before running home to finish second to Time For War.
But Rawiller hasn’t lost any faith in the I Am Invincible colt and expects him to be hard to beat this weekend and predicts a very bright future for the youngster.
“He’s very promising and feels to me like a Group 1 horse,” Rawiller told The Daily Telegraph.
“I believe he is a horse that can go all the way in the spring.’’
Rawiller can’t see any problems for Brazen Beau stepping up to the 1600m of the Group 1 $500,000 J.J. Atkins (1600m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday but adds that he will have to produce one of his best rides to collect the main trophy.
“I’ve got no issue with Brazen Beau at 1600m,’’ Rawiller said.
“I think it is important I ride a good race on him.
“It is not going to be one of those races where I can ride him like he is the best horse — I need to ride him to get the mile.”
A win in the last Group1 of the season for the two year olds will see Brazen Beau emerge in the Spring as one of the top fancies for the major three year old races including the Group 1 $1m BECK Caulfield Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield on October 11.
Brazen Beau is likely to come up against the Gerald Ryan trained Time For War again in the J.J. Atkins as well as BRC Sires’ Produce Stakes third placegetter Looks Like The Cat and the Darley pair of Careless and Mohave who finished fifth and sixth.
Time For War had always shown potential for the Ryan stable but with the blinkers on for the first time showed he was a Group 1 contender with an all the way win in the BRC Sires’ Produce Stakes.
And Looks Like The Cat from the Tony Gollan stable also showed that he is not far off the top brigade with placings at his last two starts in the Champagne Classic and the Sires’ Produce Stakes.
Ladbrokes.com.au have Brazen Beau the $2.20 favourite for the J.J. Atkins ahead of Gai Waterhouse’s smart Randwick winner Almalad at $4.50.
Looks Like The Cat is marked as a $7 chance with the Mick Price trained Pressing, with the blinkers to go on, at $8 just ahead of Careless and Time For War at $9 and Mohave at $10.
