The nominations for the 2014 Winter Stakes have been extended after only nine horses were included in the entries for the Listed event that will be held at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.
Scream Machine will be chasing his second win at Listed level when he contests the Winter Stakes this weekend. Photo by: Steve Hart
The 2014 Winter Stakes nominations are headlined by talented sprinter Scream Machine, who will be chasing his third straight victory when he contests the $100,000.
Scream Machine finished within two lengths of Spirit Of Boom in the Group 1 Doomben 10,000 (1350m) on May 24 and after missing a place in the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) has gone on to score impressive wins in the Sydney Markets Limited Handicap (1400m) at Rosehill Gardens on June 14 and the Natski Handicap (1500m) at Rosehill Gardens on June 28.
Another sprinter taking winning form into the Winter Stakes will be Generalife, who has stamped himself as a horse to watch with a number of impressive performances this preparation.
Generalife scored a narrow win over a strong field in the Westaflex Handicap (1300m) at Hawkesbury on May 3 and after finishing an unlucky third in the Hyland Race Colours Handicap (1400m) at Royal Randwick on May 24, returned to winning form in the Gaypark United Fruit Handicap (1350m) at Rosehill Gardens on June 14 before claiming his maiden win at black type level in the Listed Civic Stakes (1350m) at the same venue on July 5.
Leading Sydney trainer Chris Waller is set to have a strong hand in the Winter Stakes after including Coup Ay Tee, Hidden Kisses, Tougher Than Ever and Tromso in the nominations for the Listed race.
Coup Ay Tee finished third in the 2013 edition of the Winter Stakes, but has failed to fire during his winter campaign to date, while Hidden Kisses has been unable to find the form that saw her take out the Group 3 Toy Show Quality (1300m) at Warwick Farm during the 2013 Spring Racing Carnival.
New Zealand Group 1 winner Tougher Than Ever is still chasing his first race win in Australia and connections will be hoping that Tromso can bounce back after his poor effort in the Civic Stakes.
Another stable that could have multiple runners in the Winter Stakes is Team Cummings, who have included Romantic Moon and The Peak in the nominations.
Romantic Moon recorded her first race win since joining Team Cummings in the Spring Carnival On Sale Handicap (1500m) at Rosehill Gardens on June 28, while The Peak has performed consistently without winning since returning to the races in June.
Rounding out the 2014 Winter Stakes nominations is Paul Perry-trained Wouldn’t It Be Be Nice, who made up ground late to finish fourth behind Burbero in the McGrath Estate Agents Handicap (1300m) at Royal Randwick on July 12.
