Godolphin’s warhorse Hartnell is set to clash again with his rising star stablemate Alizee when the pair line up against each other for the fifth time in Saturday’s Group 1 $1m New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield.
The ledger is square with the records showing two a piece with their latest clash going Hartnell’s way after the veteran finished third in the Group 1 $3m The Star Doncaster Mile (1600m) at Randwick on Day One of The Championships on April 6 with Alizee beating three runners home in seventeenth spot.
Hartnell’s other victory over Alizee was when the pair finished second and third behind Mystic Journey in the $5m All-Star Mile (1600m) at Flemington on March 16.
Alizee had the wood on Hartnell in the early part of the 2019 Autumn Carnival with the Sepoy mare winning the Group 2 $200,000 Expressway Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill (Hartnell 5th) and the Group 1 $500,000 Yulong Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield (Hartnell 3rd).
The James Cummings trained Alizee has resumed for the Spring Carnival with a win in the Group 2 $200,000 Missile Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill on August 10 while Hartnell ran his usual honest race with a tough third behind Mystic Journey and Cliff’s Edge in the Group 2 $200,000 P.B. Lawrence Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on August 17.
Cummings is learning towards Alizee coming out on top but isn’t writing off the veteran nine year old.
“It was a first-up effort that was first class, she demonstrated a lot of strength to get over the line. I feel that she’ll be well-equipped second-up,” Cummings said of Alizee’s chances in the Memsie Stakes
“Of all the options available to her, we’ve chosen the Memsie as a beautiful target race.”
Cummings was delighted with Hartnell’s first up effort in the P.B. Lawrence Stakes.
“He’ll be tested by the strength of the Memsie, but I think we saw in his first-up run two weeks ago, he still has the desire and he’s thrived between runs,” Cummings said.
Race eve betting for the Memsie Stakes at Ladbrokes.com.au has Alizee as the $3.30 favourite while Hartnell is on the third line of betting at $7.
Betting for the 2019 Memsie Stakes at Ladbrokes.com.au: $3.30 Alizee, $5 Scales Of Justice, $7 Hartnell, $7.50 Begood Toya Mother, $9 Cliff’s Edge, $18 Humidor, Fundamentalist, $21 Despatch, So Si Bon, Sesar, $34 Black Heart Bart, $41 Oohood, $61 Material Man.