Dual acceptor Prized Icon has arrived in Melbourne and will take his place in the Group 1 $750,000 Australian Guineas (1600m) at Flemington on Saturday.
Prized Icon, above, will take his place in the Australian Guineas at Flemington. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.
Prized Icon was also an acceptor for the Group 1 $1m Girvan Waugh Randwick Guineas (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday but the prospect of a very heavy track influenced trainer James Cummings to make an early call and take on the Victorian three year olds.
Cummings confirmed this morning via twitter that Prized Icon had arrived safely in Melbourne and will head back to Flemington where he scored the best win of his career when he claimed the Group 1 $1.5m AAMI Victoria Derby (2500m) during the 2016 Spring Carnival.
“Prized Icon arrived at Flemington VRC early this morning to run in the Gr 1 Aust Guineas. Good luck Gooree Park. Expecting a strong effort,” Cummings tweeted.
The Randwick track was rated a heavy 9 on Thursday morning after receiving more than 84mm of rain for the past 7 days and if the forecast rain for the remainder of the week arrives, the Randwick Guineas meeting is in grave danger of being called off.
If that is the case it will be the second Randwick feature meeting that has been called off in the last month because of the wet weather which forced the Apollo Stakes meeting to be transferred from Saturday February 11 to Monday February 13.
This week’s wet weather has already forced the abandonment of Tuesday’s Kembla Grange meeting and Warwick Farm’s Wednesday meeting.
“If we were to get the wetter part of the forecast the meeting would have to be in some doubt and I wasn’t willing to take that risk with a horse whose program is geared towards an Australian Derby,” Cummings told AAP.
“Ideally we’d be staying in Sydney on Saturday but the weather has forced my hand.
“He arrived in Melbourne this morning, he’s travelled before, and initial reports are good.
“He’s a horse that mature beyond his years.”
“I’m a bit excited now that he’s there. His Flemington win in the Derby was outstanding and maybe, just maybe, he’s a horse that raises the bar when he runs at Flemington.”
Prized Icon has drawn barrier three in the capacity sixteen horse Australian Guineas field with Dean Yendall booked to ride and the More Than Ready colt is rated a $12 chance with Ladbrokes.com.au while in the Randwick Guineas market order he is rated as one of the main chances at $7.50.
The Tony McEvoy trained Hey Doc with Luke Currie in the saddle sits at the top of the Australian Guineas market order at $3.30 ahead of Team Hawkes’ Caulfield Guineas winner Divine Prophet at $9, Theanswermyfriend at $9.50 and the Team Snowden trained Attention at $10.
