Victoria Derby winner Prized Icon and South Australian Derby winner Volatile Mix are among the nominations for Group 3 $150,000 Mullins Lawyers Grand Prix Stakes (2200m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Twenty-five three year olds have been entered for the Grand Prix Stakes which is a very important lead up race for the Group 1 $600,000 Channel 7 Queensland Derby (2400m) at Eagle Farm run a fortnight later.
Prized Icon, who won the 2016 Group 1 $1.5m AAMI Victoria Derby (2500m) at Flemington during the Spring Carnival, is trainer James Cummings’ only nomination and is coming off a last start second to France in the $400,000 Inglis 3yo Guineas (1400m) at Scone’s standalone Metropolitan rated meeting on May 13.
Volatile Mix is one of three Darren Weir trained three year olds entered for the Grand Prix Stakes, the other two being Mongolian Wolf and Rockstar Rebel.
Volatile Mix was strong at the end of the 2500m of the Group 1 $600,000 South Australian Derby at Morphettville on May 13 and will be one of the main chances for the Queensland Derby.
Mongolian Wolf score an impressive first up win for the Weir stable in the Group 3 $150,000 Mostyn Copper Group Frank Packer Plate (2000m) at Randwick on April 15 but them finished down the track when eleventh to All Out Of Love in a 2000m 3yo Handicap at Caulfield on May 13.
Weir’s third Grand Prix Stakes nominations Rockstar Rebel is still racing in restricted class and was a last start second in a 2200m BenchMark 64 Handicap at Bendigo on May 5.
Sydney’s leading trainer Chris Waller also has multiple nominations for the Grand Prix Stakes and has entered Black On Gold, Sizzling Bullet, Veladero and Wu Gok.
Veladero is the best performed of the Waller entrants with three Group 3 placings at his last three starts, his latest being a third to Shocking Luck in the Group 3 $125,000 Mittys Rough Habit Plate (2000m) at Doomben on May 13.
New Zealand co-trainers Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards brought Shocking Luck to Brisbane for the Winter Carnival and the three year old has put himself into Grand Prix Stakes and Queensland Derby calculations with his win in the Rough Habit Plate.
The Brian Smith trained Order Again is only one of a handful of locally trained three year olds nominated for the Grand Prix Stakes and threw his hat into the mix with a seven and a half lengths win in a 1500m BenchMark 70 Handicap at Eagle Farm on May 3 followed by a second to Shocking Luck in the Rough Habit Plate.
Nominations for the 2017 Grand Prix Stakes (2200m)
# | Last 10 | Horse | Sex | Age | Trainer |
1 | 624121×161 | BLACK ON GOLD | G | 3 | Chris Waller |
2 | 525×42216 | CHARLTON | C | 3 | Robbie Griffiths |
3 | 0950033210 | DAZZLE EM SID | G | 3 | Matt Kropp |
4 | 7×548616 | DRUMMERS CHANCE | G | 3 | Brad Herne |
5 | 764×170145 | GARBHAN | G | 3 | Mitch Newman |
6 | 6441031176 | HERE HE COMES (NZ) | G | 3 | Donna Logan & Chris Gibbs |
7 | x67716x158 | HUNDRED | G | 3 | Brett Lunney & Thomas Lunney |
8 | 36×9751 | LYRIDS | G | 3 | Michael Costa |
9 | 408×113010 | MONGOLIAN WOLF | G | 3 | Darren Weir |
10 | 4213×512 | ORDER AGAIN (NZ) | G | 3 | Brian Smith |
11 | 54410×4210 | PETER JOHN (NZ) | G | 3 | John Sargent |
12 | 351×620272 | PRIZED ICON | C | 3 | James Cummings |
13 | 31 | REGINE (IRE) | F | 3 | John Sargent |
14 | x123x44542 | ROCKSTAR REBEL | C | 3 | Darren Weir |
15 | 422×1310 | SHADOW VISION | G | 3 | Kurt Goldman |
16 | 93221×4222 | SHARP SPEEDO | F | 3 | Chris Anderson |
17 | 16×5062061 | SHINE TAK STAR | G | 3 | John Sargent |
18 | 64122×21 | SHOCKING LUCK (NZ) | G | 3 | Stephen Autridge & Jamie Richards |
19 | 91×31192 | SIZZLING BULLET | C | 3 | Chris Waller |
20 | 0x115 | TOP OF THE RANGE (NZ) | G | 3 | Michael Moroney |
21 | 1533×01843 | VALENTINO ROSSA | G | 3 | Jason Coyle |
22 | 144×488323 | VELADERO | C | 3 | Chris Waller |
23 | 828×644624 | VIOLATE | C | 3 | Brent Stanley |
24 | 2215×51741 | VOLATILE MIX (NZ) | G | 3 | Darren Weir |
25 | 8462421153 | WU GOK | G | 3 | Chris Waller |