Top Victorian jockey Brad Rawiller will head to Queensland to ride longshot Sooboog in the Group 1 $700,000 James Boag’s Premium Doomben 10000 (1200m) at Doomben on Saturday.
Brad Rawiller, above, will ride Sooboog in the Doomben 10,000 at Doomben. Photo by Adrienne Bicknell.
Rawiller does a lot of the main riding for Victoria’s premiership winning trainer Darren Weir and was also engaged to ride the stable’s three year old Rockstar Rebel in the Group 1 $600,000 South Australian Derby (2500m) at Morphettville also on Saturday.
The two Group 1s will be run approximately an hour apart and as Rockstar Rebel was installed as the first emergency for the South Australian Derby and not certain of getting a start, Weir’s racing manger Jeremy Rogers elected to send Rawiller to Brisbane to ride Sooboog in the Doomben 10,000.
“He’ll be going to Brisbane,” Rogers told racing.com.
“Originally he was going to Adelaide to ride in the Derby, but as Rockstar Rebel’s first emergency and he’s not guaranteed a run we thought we might as well send him to Brisbane.
“If Rockstar Rebel was in the field he’d definitely be riding him, but if he doesn’t get a run Brad doesn’t ride Saturday, which is why I put him down for Sooboog.”
Craig Williams has been put on standby to ride $10 chance Rockstar Rebel if he sneaks into the final field on race morning providing third emergency Adatto, who he is down to ride, fails to gain a run.
Sooboog was spelled after winning the Group 3 $150,000 Aurie’s Star Handicap (1200m) at Flemington at the beginning of the 2016 Melbourne Spring Carnival but has failed to fire at two runs back from a spell.
Weir has added the blinkers to Sooboog for the Doomben 10,000, hoping the additional gear will improve him following his first up twelfth in the Listed $100,000 Manihi Classic (1100m) at Morphettville on April 1 and a sixth to Viddora in the Group 3 $120,000 R N Irwin Stakes (1100m) at Morphettville on April 22.
Rawiller should be able to take up a handy position from barrier four on Sooboog who is listed as one of the outsiders at $34 at Ladbrokes.com.au for the fifteen horse Doomben 10,000.
Weir will also saddle up El Divino who is also marked at $34 and will jump from barrier eleven with local jockey Michael Cahill to ride.
Peter and Paul Snowden’s Group 1 winning three year old Russian Revolution holds his spot at the top of the Doomben 10,000 market order at $3.20 ahead of last year’s winner Music Magnate at $6.50, the favourite’s stablemate Redzel at $7 and number one saddlecloth holder Fell Swoop at $8.50.
