Last week we reported there wasn’t a single rival entry to face Black Caviar in this Friday’s Australia Stakes at Moonee Valley and it’s been far from a deluge since then.
Some have come in though, Moody as expected nominating stablemate Doubtful Jack with Rock Classic, Sound Journey and Stirling Grove also on the list.
The interesting entry however is Mosheen, the three year old returning for the first time since winning the Crown Oaks during the spring.
Obviously having won that over 2500m the 1200m will be way too short come Friday but she should still have a bit of zip about her.
Before leading all the way in the Crown Oaks she’d never actually run further than a mile.
With a light weight she’ll be prominent for the minors but at the end of the day it’s all about being the best of the rest.
Chief handicapper for racing Victoria Greg Carpenter says whatever the numbers in the Australia Stakes there’s no danger of it not going ahead.
“We would not delete a Group race. We would not get in a situation where every time Black Caviar runs in a Group 1 or 2 race and no one takes her on that we would call the race off,” Carpenter said.
“The race will definitely proceed.
“It is a Group race and people set their horses for these races, so we would not be deleting them.”
That being said the race will now be run earlier in the program to free up space for a more punter friendly contest during the prime period.
The Australia Stakes will become race four on the program, taking out of the quaddie.
At the very least Mosheen’s entry would add another recognisable name to the event with trainer Robert Smerdon to choose from either this or an 1100m three year old fillies race at Caulfield the following Saturday.
“She’s a chance to run in the Australia Stakes. We’ll gallop her and I’ll see what Dan (Nikolic) has to say,” Smerdon said.
Rock Classic will be another interesting one to watch, even if he’s a long way off the pace.
The 2010 Australia Guineas champion hasn’t raced August 2010 after suffering a tendon injury which required a stem cell operation to fix.
