Damien Oliver to ride in last Victorian Group 1s on Saturday
Superstar jockey Damien Oliver will close the Group 1 Victorian chapter of his career at Caulfield on Saturday.
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The final Group 1 races of the Melbourne spring will be held at Caulfield on Saturday when the Thousand Guineas and Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes are run.
Both races are being run in a new timeslot in 2023 after being moved back from their original dates in September and October.
Retiring champion jockey Damien Oliver will have his last Group 1 ride in Victoria on Saturday, engaged to partner the Mick Price and Michael Kent (Jnr)-trained Vibrant Sun in the Thousand Guineas and Vilana for James Cummings in the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes.
A field of 13 runners has been declared for the $1 million Thousand Guineas (1600m) and the field includes undefeated excitement machine Skybird from the Mitchell Freedman stable.
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Other proven stakes performers in the field are Kimochi, Coeur Volante, Arctic Glamour, Carina Queen, Joliestar, Zourion and Vivy Air.
Here is the field and barrier draw for the 2023 Thousand Guineas.
No. - Horse - Trainer - Jockey - Barrier - Weight
1 - KIMOCHI - Gary Portelli - Craig Williams - 4 - 56kg
2 - COEUR VOLANTE - Michael Moroney - Blake Shinn - 5 - 56kg
3 - SKYBIRD - Mitchell Freedman - Beau Mertens - 2 - 56kg
4 - ARCTIC GLAMOUR - Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou - Kerrin McEvoy - 7 - 56kg
5 - CARINA QUEEN - Grahame Begg - Jamie Kah - 8 - 56kg
6 - JOLIESTAR - Chris Waller - James McDonald - 1 - 56kg
7 - ZOURION - Mark Walker - Michael Dee - 11 - 56kg
8 - VIVY AIR - Archie Alexander - Declan Bates - 13 - 56kg
9 - APACHE SONG - Michael Trotter - Zac Spain - 9 - 56kg
10 - ENNA’S DREAM - Alex Rae - Jake Noonan - 6 - 56kg
11 - ERSA - Ben, Will & JD Hayes - Mark Zahra - 12 - 56kg
12 - VIBRANT SUN - Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr) - Damien Oliver - 10 - 56kg
13 - QUICKSTER - Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman - Billy Egan - 3 - 56kg
A full field of 16 plus three emergencies makes up the field for the $1 million Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m).
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The talented group of sprinter/milers includes classy spring performers including the likes of I Am Me, Strait Acer, Bandersnatch, Skew Wiff, The Inferno, Ayrton, Buffalo River, Chain Of Lightning, Magic Time, Munhamek, Cause For Concern, General Beau, Crosshaven and Wrote To Arataki.
Here is the field and barrier draw for the 2023 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes.
No. - Horse - Trainer - Jockey - Barrier - Weight
1 - VILANA - James Cummings - Damien Oliver - 1 - 57kg
2 - I AM ME - Ciaron Maher & David Eustace - Blake Shinn - 10 - 56kg
3 - STRAIT ACER - Edward Cummings - Mark Zahra - 4 - 55.5kg
4 - BANDERSNATCH - Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes - Jordan Childs - 3 - 55kg
5 - SKEW WIFF - Mark Walker - Craig Williams - 12 - 55kg
6 - THE INFERNO - Cliff Brown - Jake Noonan - 7 - 55kg
7 - AYRTON - Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr) - Daniel Moor - 6 - 54.5kg
8 - ZOUTORI - Mathew Ellerton - Beau Mertens - 2 - 54.5kg
9 - BUFFALO RIVER - Michael Moroney - Celine Gaudray (a) - 19 - 53.5kg
10 - CHAIN OF LIGHTNING - Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman - Billy Egan - 11 - 53.5kg
11 - MAGIC TIME - Grahame Begg - Michael Dee - 15 - 53.5kg
12 - MUNHAMEK - Nick Ryan - Luke Currie - 18 - 53.5kg
13 - CAUSE FOR CONCERN - Shawn Mathrick - Jamie Kah - 8 - 53kg
14 - GENERAL BEAU - Mathew Ellerton - Linda Meech - 16 - 53kg
15 - CROSSHAVEN - Ben, Will & JD Hayes - Daniel Stackhouse - 5 - 52.5kg
16 - WROTE TO ARATAKI - Matthew Williams - Dean Yendall - 13 - 52.5kg
17e - NOT AN OPTION - Michael Moroney - Craig Newitt - 9 - 52.5kg
18e - MILITARY EXPERT - Annabel Neasham - Winona Costin - 17 - 52.5kg
19e - UMGAWA - Leon & Troy Corstens - Liam Riordan - 14 - 52.5kg
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The Caulfield track was rated a good (4) at acceptance time. The rail will be in the true position on Saturday.
Saturday’s 10-race program commences at 11.40am with the final event to be run at 5.10pm.
The Bureau Of Meteorology forecast for Melbourne is.
Wednesday – Partly cloudy. 20.
Thursday – Mostly cloudy. 18.
Friday – Mostly cloudy. 18.
Saturday – Partly cloudy. 20.
CLICK HERE to get the fields and free formguide for Caulfield meeting on Saturday.
Originally published as Damien Oliver to ride in last Victorian Group 1s on Saturday