Randwick racing preview, tips and picks for Saturday, April 11, 2020

Welcome to our preview and tips for Day 2 of The Championships at Royal Randwick, another of the best days of racing on the Australian calendar, though the meeting will of course be conducted without fans in attendance.

The first day of The Championships featured four Grade 1 races and produced some memorable racing last weekend, with the second day boasting another four Group 1s, including the weight-for-age Queen Elizabeth Stakes for the best horses in the country.

The Australian Turf Club, which runs racing in Sydney, has built up the Queen Elizabeth Stakes as a challenger for the W.S. Cox Plate in Melbourne in October, a race long rated as the weight-for-age championship of Australia.

The two-day The Championships have become the highlight of the rich Sydney autumn carnival.

Australian racing has defied the odds to continue while the major sports in Australia and worldwide have been halted, with racing officials imposing the strictest biosecurity measures in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has stopped racing in most jurisdictions.

Australian racing has been held behind closed doors for the past six weeks, with only essential personnel allowed on course.

Our racing specialists at the World Gambling List have studied the form for the Randwick meeting, with a particular eye to the four Group 1s: the Australian Oaks, Sydney Cup, Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Coolmore Legacy Stakes.

Read on for our free Randwick tips for Saturday, April 11, 2020.

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Randwick Race 6: Australian Oaks, 2.30pm AEDT (2400m)

This is, of course, a race for three-year-old fillies stepping out to the 12 furlongs for the first time. The Australian Oaks carries great prestige and usually attracts the very best of the age group. As we saw with a cracking ATC Derby last Saturday on Day One of The Championships, the superior stayers really emerge at this testing distance, particularly at a track such as Randwick with a demanding finishing stretch. 1.Probabeel is the class runner in the race, having already won six races from 14 starts, including the group 1 Surround Stakes over 1400m at this track on February 29. She has been the sparring partner for star filly Funstar, which has been sent to the group 1 Coolmore Legacy Stakes later in this card over the mile. We have a slight doubt over Probabeel enjoying the step up to 2400m as she just peaked on her run when second behind 2.Shout The Bar in the group 1 Vinery Stud Stakes over 2000m a fortnight ago at Rosehill. In Probabeel’s defence, Shout The Bar led and the track that day was heavily in favour of those racing on the pace. Probabeel’s dam Far Fetched won three races but never over further than 1200m and she failed badly in the 2014 NZ Oaks when tried as a stayer. Shout The Bar should lead again but won’t find it as useful at Randwick as it was on the biased Rosehill track, but she is bred to be very good. It was hard to miss the stunning performance of Godolphin filly Colette in the group 3 Adrian Knox Stakes over 2000m last Saturday. She savaged the line to win by almost three lengths and looks even better suited at 2400m.

Suggested bet: Back Colette with confidence here at one of the top international bookies. Keep an eye out for 7. Toffee Tongue, which kept coming behind Colette last weekend and should do the same again. Toffee Tongue is a full-sister to Hong Kong champion Werther and you can sercure odds of 14-1 and better so is worth consideration in exotic bets.

Randwick Race 7: Sydney Cup, 3.15pm (3200m)

This gruelling staying contest has taken on a real European flavour, much like the more famous Melbourne Cup has when it is run at Flemington on the first Tuesday each November. Australia is renowned for its sprinting stock, but over the past few decades it has become apparent that there is a lack of depth in the staying ranks and trainers have had great success by importing more stoutly bred horses from the United Kingdom, France, Ireland and elsewhere in Europe. Many of these horses start their careers in Europe and are quickly snapped up and sent to top Australian trainers to chase the rich prizemoney on offer Down Under. This year’s edition of the Sydney Cup is intriguing. 2.Young Rascal is still trained overseas, by William Haggas at Newmarket in England, and has had only one start in Australia for a tough win over 2400m at Rosehill. Young Rascal is the hot favourite for the race, and is also considered likely to stay in Australia for a tilt at the big spring cups. Topweight 1.Mustajeer is a gelding formerly trained in Britain now prepared at Newcastle by Kris Lees. He was a cracking second to the flying Verry Elleegant last start on the same day Young Rascal won his race at Rosehill. We think that form is clearly superior though all the early money has been with Young Rascal. Another imported galloper in 4.Raheen House is the only other horse under double figures in the betting.

Best bet: We are happy to back in of the class of Mustajeer, with Nash Rawiller riding in great form. The Lees stable could be in for a good day.

 

Randwick Race 8: Queen Elizabeth Stakes, 3.55pm (2000m)

Another international contest looms as Haggas has 2.Addeybb engaged, with British  rider Tom Marquand, who has had extraordinary success riding in Australia, to ride the pair. No.1 Danon Premium is a high-class Japanese raider which has won six of only 10 starts and has the services of champion rider James McDonald. Danon Premium is drawn perfectly in gate three and if he can reproduce his form from Japan he will certainly be the horse to beat. He is by the Japanese champion stallion Deep Impact and started a short-priced favourite in the 2018 Japanese Derby. This is a serious racehorse from a country renowned for producing some of the best horses on the planet thanks to its incredible breeding industry. 12.Verry Elleegant is racing in wonderful form and will have Nash Rawiller standing in for regular jockey McDonald, while New Zealand’s best horse 4.Te Akau Shark is another given a great chance of landing this Group 1 though he has had some injury concerns in the lead-up to this race. 10.Master Of Wine is an imported galloper now trained by Team Hawkes and he is racing in wonderful form though this represents a large step up in class. Master Of Wine is really untapped and could be the knockout horse.

Our Queen Elizabeth Stakes tip: Addeybb showed real grit to win at his first Australian start and we will stick with the Pivotal gelding on the fact he has proven he can adapt to the conditions Down Under. He should be even better for his first-up win and Marquand has proved a master in the conditions. Verry Elleegant is a sound each-way bet at around 6-1.

Randwick Race 9: Coolmore Legacy Stakes, 4.35pm (1600m)

This is another one for the girls: a weight-for-age race for fillies and mares, with the high-class filly 17.Funstar the only three-year-old in the race. Trainer Chris Waller has elected to step her back in distance after a disappointing fourth over 2000m in the Vinery Stud Stakes at Rosehill a fortnight ago, rather than push on the 2400m Australian Oaks. Funstar has a devastating turn of foot and has the services of James McDonald, who features on our list of the world’s best jockeys. 2. Nettoyer was a shock winner of the Doncaster Mile last weekend and if she can hold that form she would be one to beat as she came with a barnstorming run down the outside to claim the Group 1. 9.Positive Peace has won her past five races on end and is a dashing on-pace type, though it may be more difficult to win on the pace at Randwick than it has been at Rosehill. Nevertheless, she is racing in a rich vein of form. 3.Con Te Partiro is a US-bred mare which keeps surprising with her on-track performances. She had been expected to quickly head off for life as a broodmare but she still wants to be a racehorse for trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.

Suggested bet: There has been plenty of money to suggest the filly Funstar will blow this field away but we are happy to try a couple of contenders at double-figure odds. We will have each-way bets on 3.Con Te Partiro and 5.Sweet Deal, which was disappointing last start but has a great record overall.

Free tips for the other races at Randwick, Day 2 of the Championships 2020

Well, there you have our Randwick tips and analysis of the four Group 1 Races on Day Two of The Championships from Sydney, Australia.

We have examined six support races, admittedly not in the same depth as we have employed on the major races, but a couple of horses jumped out as good each-way bets.

We think 5.Mirra Vision will be very hard to beat in the second race at Randwick, the South Pacific Classic, while race 10, No.3 Savatiano is a classy type down in class and will give them something to chase in the last race on the card.

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