Tinto has been included in the 2016 Guy Walter Stakes field and trainer Rex Lipp is delighted with the condition of his star galloper ahead of the Group 2 event at Royal Randwick this weekend.
Tinto will return to Sydney racing in the 2016 Guy Walter Stakes at Royal Randwick this weekend. Photo by: Daniel Costello
Tinto was last seen in Sydney when she finished second behind Happy Clapper in the Group 2 Villiers Stakes (1600m) at Royal Randwick on December 12 and she returned to Queensland to record impressive wins in the Origin Jockey Series Quality (1800m) at the Gold Coast on Boxing Day and the $1 million Magic Millions Trophy (1800m) at the same venue on January 9.
Lipp earmarked the Guy Walter Stakes for Tinto straight after her Magic Millions Trophy victory and he told Sky Racing HQ this morning that the daughter of Red Dazzler has freshened up nicely for the $175,000 event.
“We went through the Winter Carnival calendar and there were really only one or two races that stood out for her,” Lipp said.
“One of them was the Doomben Cup and in all the starts she has had at Doomben she has never won at Doomben and Doomben is just not her track.
“She only had a week off, but in saying that she did a lot of swimming and walking, which freshened her right up.
“She is a great doer, when she came home the night after the Magic Millions Stayers Cup she ate her feed and more or less said the next morning where do we go now.
“She came through the jump out very nicely, in the jump out she did what I wanted her to do, she just sprinted through the line very strong.
“She pulled up beautiful.”
Lipp has revealed that he will retire from training when the racing career of Tinto concludes and he is desperate to capture another Group 1 victory with the five-year-old, who upset Arabian Gold to win the 2014 edition of the Queensland Oaks.
Tinto will head to the Group 1 Coolmore Classic (1500m) at Rosehill Gardens on March 12 and Lipp said that the Group 1 Doncaster Mile (1600m), Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) and Group 1 Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m) are all potential options.
“We will go to the Coolmore and then we will decide whether we go to the Doncaster or the Queen Elizabeth or we did throw her in the Queen Of The Turf over the mile,” Lipp said.
“Randwick is her track and I am desperate to try and win the Coolmore.
“We are going to run into some nice fillies down there, but she is up with them and you need to have a go.”
Tinto is currently available at 2016 Guy Walter Stakes odds of $10 with Ladbrokes and she is on the fourth line of betting behind Solicit ($2.60), Peeping ($3.80) and Amicus ($5.50).
