Rosehill Inside Mail: Secret tip from the Hawkes camp

Team Hawkes has assembled its strongest squad of the season at Rosehill Gardens and has a great chance to capture the Group 1 feature. RAY THOMAS’ BEST BETS, QUADDIE TIPS

Team Hawkes has assembled its strongest squad of the season with seven starters across six races including More Secrets in the Group 1 $1 million Coolmore Classic (1500m) at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.

The underrated More Secrets might be over the odds at $23 she goes to the feature fillies and mares races after her fast-finishing third to Coolmore rivals Hell Hath No Fury and Hinged in the Guy Walter Stakes.

More Secrets ran impressive closing sectionals in her comeback race and drops to just 51.5kg for the Group 1 race – the lightest weight she has ever carried in her career.

Trainers Michael, Wayne and John Hawkes have Makarena and Groundrush clashing in the Group 2 $300,000 Phar Lap Stakes, as well as Airman (Group 3 $250,000 Maurice McCarten Stakes), two-year-olds Fly Fly (Group 3 $250,000 Magic Night Stakes) and Agenda Setter (Group 3 $250,000 Pago Pago Stakes) and Superium (Rosehill Bowling Club Handicap).

Makarena, winner of the Tapp-Craig last spring, is the $4 favourite to become the eighth filly in 10 years to beat the “boys” in the Phar Lap Stakes.

Her stablemate Groundrush is at $19 and on the back-up after his good effort to finish third at Flemington last Saturday.

The talented Airman ($3.60) resumes in the Maurice McCarten Stakes and is one of four favourites for champion jockey James McDonald at the Rosehill meeting.

Fly Fly has firmed into $2.50 favouritism for the Magic Night Stakes after the scratching of Eneeza. The Hawkes-trained filly is on the quick back-up after her eye-catching second in the Sweet Embrace Stakes two weeks ago.

Agenda Setter ($13) resumes in the Pago Pago but the superbly bred colt – he’s by champion sire I Am Invincible out of Group 1 winner Secret Agenda – has been very impressive at the barrier trials in recent weeks.

Superium ($18) is also first-up from a spell but can sprint well fresh although the gelding prefers a firm track surface.

PRICE CHECK

Gatsby’s (race 4) and Tavi Time (race 10) are easily the best-backed runners on the Rosehill program. Gatsby’s has firmed from $2.80 to $2.30 including a $4,500 wager at $2.30. Tavi Time opened at $2.50 but is into $1.80 after some confident betting including wagers of $2,100 at $1.95 and $2,000 at $2.

Fresh off an impressive debut victory over Roselyn's Star and Silmarillion at Canterbury on February 23, Gatsby’s is a short-priced favourite for the Group 3 Pago Pago Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday. Picture: Bradley Photos

TRIAL POINTERS

AIRMAN (race six) is a clearly talented sprinter from the Team Hawkes stable. The son of I Am Invincible has so far won five of his nine starts together with two placings, one of those was a second to I Am Me (and ahead of Bella Nipotina) in the Group 3 Sydney Stakes on Everest Day last year. Airman has raced four times first-up, winning three and a rather unlucky (third) at the other. Airman did everything to impress when within a length of his stablemate Remarque in a 900m trial at Rosehill earlier this month.

Airman swoops down the outside! 💨

Final favourite wins at Flemington. 💰@[e-mail]/14krFFIYir

— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) May 13, 2023

RAZORS (race 10) is a lightly-raced son of two talented horses. His sire, Sidestep, won several stakes-races including the Pago Pago Stakes on this corresponding card in 2013 and was runner-up to Overreach in the Golden Slipper a week later. Razors dam, Lobola, has a Slipper connection of her own in that she ran second on debut at the midweeks to 2007 Golden Slipper winner, Forensics. Razors resumes at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday having last appeared there on October 7 finishing second to Makerena in the $500,000 Tapp-Craig. Trials indicate a forward showing.

RAZORS ⚔️

Gets the job done in Race 3 at Wyong 👊

The 2YO is the 7th 2YO winner this season for @TelemonThoroug1's Sidestep and he is out of the Anabaa mare, Lobola.

Congratulations to team @godolphin and all connections! pic.twitter.com/5DIeviwmg6

— TTR AusNZ (@TTRAusNZ) July 15, 2023

SECTIONAL STARS

FLY FLY (race 3) races in the same predominantly yellow and pink colours of her dam, Dawn Dawn, whose five career wins were highlighted by her 2020 victory in the Group 2 Guy walter Stakes (1400m) at Royal Randwick. Fly Fly is presumably on her way to the Golden Slipper, aiming to join one of her distant relatives – Dark Eclipse – on the Honour Roll. Her immediate mission is Saturday’s Magic Night Stakes where she has numerous admirers based on her barnstorming second on the Sweet Embrace.

DEMOCRACY MANIFEST (race 9) boasts a good winning strike-rate of 8 wins from 26 starts with six minor placings. The one time Dubbo sprinter’s major win as it stands is the Cameron Handicap last spring where he beat subsequent Five Diamonds Prelude winner Palmetto and Little Dance winner Spangler. The Chris Waller-trained Democracy Manifest back at his home track on the weekend after finishing sixth of 11 in the Liverpool City Cup where his usual powerful finish was stymied by the conditions closer to the fence where he found himself.

ROSEHILL BIG BETS, MARKET MOVERS
R1: Mad Darcey $6-$5, Flying Sultan $8.50-$6.50, Mayrose $12-$9.50
R2: Wymark $3.30-$2.80, Dasho Lennie $5.50-$5
R3: Fly Fly $6-$3.10 with a $2,000 bet at $3.10, Castanya $4.60-$3.50
R4: Gatsby $2.80-$2.30 with a bet of $4,500 at $2.30, Coleman $6-$4.60
R5: Lindermann $2.30-$1.90, Just Fine $2.80-$2.50, Athabascan $8.50-$6
R6: Airman $3.60-$3.10 including a bet of $2,000 at $3.40, Red Card $4.60-$3.50
R7: Makarena $4.60-$4, Saltcoats $6-$5, Kintyre $15-$10
R8: Zougotcha $4.60-$4 after bets of $2,000 at $4 and $2,000 at $3.90, Kimochi $15-$7.50
R9: Democracy Manifest $8-$6.50, Welwal $15-$9.50
R10: Tavi Time $2.50-$1.80 with bets of $2,100 at $1.95, $2,000 at $2, Whinchat $6.50-$5

EARLY QUADDIE
Race 3: 2, 3, 5
Race 4: 2, 4, 6, 7
Race 5: 3, 4, 8
Race 6: 1, 4, 5, 10

QUADDIE
Race 7: 5, 6, 14, 15
Race 8: 1, 2, 4, 14
Race 9: 3, 5, 8, 13
Race 10: 7, 9

BEST BET

TAVI TIME (race 10) has won six of his nine starts including his last three in succession. He romped home with the Mudgee Cup by more than six lengths back in December then resumed in a Provincial Midway Championships Qualifier at Newcastle earlier this month and made a mess of his rivals winning by four lengths easing down. He is staying at 1400m but he’s a very promising horse from the Kris Lees stable. The wait for Tavi Time in the last race on the program will be worth it.

VALUE BET

HUON (race 1) has been racing well without much luck late and is bursting to win a race. He goes to Rosehill after a game last start effort when second to Rhythm Of Love at Canterbury when he closed his race off strongly. Huon doesn’t have a great winning strike-rate and this a very competitive contest but he’s drawn to get the run of the race. Good each way value around $13.

Originally published as Rosehill Inside Mail: Secret tip from the Hawkes camp