BTC Cup winner Your Song has rocketed to the top of the betting for the Group 1 $650,000 Carlton Mid Doomben 10,000 (1350m) at Doomben on May 25 after a runaway win at Eagle Farm last Saturday.
Your Song is new favourite for Doomben 10,000 after BTC Cup win at Eagle Farm. Photo by Daniel Costello.
And the Anthony Cummings trained three year old has also been posted the $4 favourite for the Group 1 $1.36m AAMI Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at Eagle Farm on June 8.
Your Song ploughed through the mud with ease to score a five lengths victory over Rain Affair in the Group 1 $400,000 Bundaberg Distilling Co. BTC Cup (1200m).
Cummings has always held a high opinion of the Fastnet Rock colt and says that there is more Group 1 wins install after towelling his opposition with such dominance, including Rain Affair who was unbeaten on heavy tracks prior to Saturday.
“If he can be just as good on top of the ground, with that same sort of dominance, he’s obviously the one they all have to beat. He’s going to be one hell of a target,” Cummings said.
Cummings didn’t have any trouble finding a replacement rider in the Doomben 10,000 with Hugh Bowman taking over from Peter Robl who will be on the sidelines due to a careless riding suspension.
Your Song is likely to face a similar field in the Doomben 10,000 and another Group 1 win will earn him around the 54kg mark in the Stradbroke Handicap forcing the three year old to create a new weight carrying record for his age group if he is to win the feature Winter Carnival sprint.
“Duporth was given 52.5kg on a 49.5kg limit after beating Apache Cat and a pretty hot field, albeit nowhere near as dynamic as Your Song was on Saturday,” Racing Queensland handicapper Nathan Bourke said.
“Since then the limit has gone up 1kg, so you are looking at something like 53.5kg or 54kg at this stage.”
The Robert Heathcote trained Buffering was all the rage at Eagle Farm last Saturday before the rain came and after walking out of the barriers was never a winning chance on the heavy track, finishing in fourth spot.
Rain Affair took up his usual front running position but could offer no resistance to Your Song as he exploded in the straight, handling the heavy conditions to perfection.
Buffering is now the second favourite in the Doomben 10,000 and connections will be hoping for a good track to give him every chance of winning his maiden Group 1.
The Peter Snowden trained Epaulette is next in the betting at $6 just ahead of Rain Affair at $6.50 with local three year Better Than Ready at $11 after running a solid third to Your Song.
Your Song, Buffering, Better Than Ready and Epaulette are also the first four in Stradbroke Handicap betting.
