Jameka Heads 2017 Peter Young Stakes Nominations

Caulfield Cup winner Jameka heads up the sixteen nominations for the Group 2 $200,000 Crown Lager Peter Young Stakes (1800m) at Caulfield on Saturday.

Jameka, above, heads up the nominations for the Peter Young Stakes at Caulfield. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.

Jameka, above, heads up the nominations for the Peter Young Stakes at Caulfield. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.

The Ciaron Maher trained mare is on track towards the Group 1 $1.5m Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington on March 11 and is coming of a first up fourth to Black Heart Bart in the Group 1 $500,000 Ladbrokes C.F. Orr Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on February 11.

Maher is happy with Jameka’s Autumn Carnival progress and is aiming to have her peak on Australian Cup Day.

“I’ve been happy with her all along this campaign with the way she’s come into work and the progression that she’s made through and the idea is to have her 100 per cent third-up,” Maher told racing.com.

“If you look at her form nearly every preparation she’s had she improves with each run and that’s how I train her and at this stage she’s on track.”

While Ladbrokes C.F. Orr Stakes winner Black Heart Bart will go around in the Group 1 $500,000 italktravel Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on Saturday, his trainer Darren Weir still has a strong presence in the Peter Young Stakes with Stratum Star, Real Love and Humidor among the nominations.

Stratum Star is the winner of his last two starts in the Group 1 $1m Peters Investments-Kingston Town Classic (1800m) at Ascot in Perth on December 3 and in the $1m Moet & Chandon Magic Millions Trophy (2200m) at the Gold Coast on January 14.

Real Love has had two runs back from a spell for a fifth in the Listed $120,000 John Dillon Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on January 26 followed by a fifth to Burning Front with stablemate Humidor running second in the Group 3 $150,000 The Resimax TS Carlyon Cup (1600m) at Caulfield on February 11.

The Leon and Troy Corstens trained Awesome Rock will appreciate the step up in distance in the Peter Young Stakes after finishing seventh first up in the Ladbrokes C.F. Orr Stakes.

Lee and Anthony Freedman have nominated English import Exospheric and front runner Tom Melbourne while Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott have entered the in-form Ecuador who ran a mighty race to finish third behind Black Heart Bart and Turn Me Loose in the Ladbrokes C.F. Orr Stakes.

The Robert Hickmott trained Irish import The United States is set to kick off his 2017 Melbourne Autumn Carnival campaign and is among the nominations for the Peter Young Stakes.

Early market order for the Peter Young Stakes at Ladbokes.com.au: $4.40 Jameka, $5.50 The United States, $6 Humidor, $7 Awesome Rock, $8 Stratum Star, $10 Exospheric, Tom Melbourne, $11 Ecuador, $14 Darabad, Real Love, Tally $21 Pilote D’Essai, $31 Almoonqith, Boom Time, $51 Mourinho, $151 Spirit Of Endeavour.

About The Author

Mark Mazzaglia

Mark is a passionate journalist with a life-time involvement in the racing industry. He spent many years as an analyst and form expert at the Courier Mail and also has hands-on experience working with some of Queensland’s top trainers.