Golden Eagle 2019: Arcadia Queen new favourite for $7.5m race after Brutal draws wide
Punters have loaded up on the Chris Waller-trained Arcadia Queen and eased off on her main rival Brutal after the barrier draw for the $7.5m Golden Eagle. FINAL FIELD
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The spring riches look set to continue for Chris Waller after Arcadia Queen drew gate five for Saturday’s $7.5 million Golden Eagle (1500m) at Rosehill Gardens, while her main rival Brutal lost favouritism when coming up with barrier 17.
Waller’s recent win with Yes Yes Yes in the $14 million Everest took his stable’s earnings to $17.9 million this season and Arcadia Queen, who has been smahed in betting ($4.40 to $2.80) for the big race, Kolding ($5) and Zousain ($151) can add $4.1 million to that figure if one of them takes out the inaugural Golden Eagle.
Brutal drifted in the betting from $4 to $5 after drawing the widest in the capacity field but is still the second favourite for the race restricted to four-year-olds.
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Arcadia Queen’s owner Bob Peters was naturally disappointed to see her run 11th in The Everest last start and when asked why he decided to push on with her spring campaign he said it was simple.
“The value of the race,” he said.
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“She’s only four once and it’s very hard to knock back a race like this.
“If we had stopped (spelled) than you’d always look back saying ‘what if’.
“The barrier helps. She’ll be able to jump out and not do a lot of work, then we can see how good she is.”
Waller’s stable representative Charlie Duckworth said the team quickly looked to the positives with Arcadia Queen when it came to the Golden Eagle.
Her best wins to date have been over 1600m and particularly over 1800m in the Group 1 Kingston Town Stakes where she romped in by four lengths last year.
There was always a feeling she would be susceptible at the shorter 1200m Everest.
Arcadia Queen ($4.20) becomes favourite for Saturday's Golden Eagle at @rosehillgardens following the barrier draw.
— TABcomau Media (@tabcomaumedia) October 29, 2019
Brutal has eased from $4 before the barrier draw to $4.60.https://t.co/3AFJAYjOYC pic.twitter.com/4pOSSkbPhf
“She ran over a distance too short for her and was only beaten 4 ½ lengths so I don’t even think it’s a case of having to bounce back,” Duckworth said.
“We don’t need to ride her as positively as we did in The Everest from that barrier and over a distance that will play to her strengths.
“Her work on Tuesday morning was brilliant. James (McDonald) came up from Melbourne just to gallop her and he couldn’t be any happier with her.
“She wouldn’t have blown a candle out after the gallop so she’s certainly fit for that extra 300m and she should get a nice run.”
Greg Radley spoke to Bob Peters after Arcadia Queen drew gate 5 in the Golden Eagle 👇 pic.twitter.com/hlFiWfrFPH
— Sky Racing (@SkyRacingAU) October 29, 2019
Interestingly though, when pressed about which of the Waller runners has the best chance to win the Golden Eagle, Duckworth pointed to Kolding.
“You can’t get away from winning form so you’ve got to go with the last start winner,” he said. “The Epsom is one of the hardest Group 1s to win.
“He’s drawn a good barrier (4) and a month between runs shouldn’t worry him. He had a nice maintenance barrier trial in between and a pretty solid workout on Monday morning.”
Classique Legend, an unlucky sixth in the Everest, is on the third line of betting at $5 and will start from barrier one.
Tasmanian-based The Inevitable, who won the Silver Eagle at Randwick, is $8.50 at TAB.
Barrier draw for the $7.5m Iron Jack Golden Eagle 🦅 coming up from 12pm. pic.twitter.com/5lA75NMg6j
— Racing NSW (@racing_nsw) October 29, 2019
Meantime, two of the three international runners competing in the Golden Eagle received the visitors draw, but their stables weren’t worried.
Beat Le Bon got gate 15 for trainer Richard Hannon and jockey Pat Dobbs, while the Michael O’Callaghan-trained I Am Superman will jump from barrier 14 with Leigh Roche on board.
Both were rated $61 chances. Aidan O’Brien’s Never No More fared the best of the international raiders with barrier seven, and is a $25 chance with the TAB.
Beat Le Bon’s stable representative Wayne Kavanagh said all his horse needs in a strong pace up front for him to swoop late.
“He’s a horse that can be a bit keen and his best runs this year are when he’s come from behind. I know on a track like this you don’t want to be too far back,” Kavanagh said.
“Having the second favourite (Brutal) and a bit of pace on our outside might play into our favour. Things are going better than planned. We were worried he’d get a bit fresh and a bit buzzy but he’s gone the other way.”
I Am Superman hasn’t raced since a third placing over 1609m in the Desmond Stakes in Ireland in August but he’s got a great fresh record and stable representative John Bailey was happy to be out wide.
“The draw is perfect for him,” he said. “He can sit in on the pace. He’s probably got too much early speed so he needs to get cover. He’s settled in really well.”
Meanwhile, Glen Boss hasn’t given up hope of riding Constantinople in Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup after he was suspended at Randwick’s meeting last Saturday.
Boss will have his appeal heard on Monday but even if he fails to reduce his six-meeting ban the appeals panel can decide to delay the start of the suspension by two days according to the rules.
GOLDEN EAGLE (1500m)
Rosehill Gardens, Saturday
1. BRUTAL (17) M, W & J Hawkes T Berry 57.5kg
2. CLASSIQUE LEGEND (1) L Bridge K McEvoy 57.5kg
3. KOLDING (4) C Waller G Boss 57.5kg
4. THE INEVITABLE (3) S Brunton N Rawiller 57.5kg
5. GEM SONG (9) K Lees B Avdulla 57.5kg
6. ZOUSAIN (12) C Waller G Schofield 57.5kg
7. BEHEMOTH (8) D Jolly T Pannell 57.5kg
8. MILITARY ZONE (13) P & P Snowden A Adkins 57.5kg
9. JONKER (2) D Atkins R Dolan 57.5kg
10. FUN FACT (10) B Baker B Lerena 57.5kg
11. BEAT LE BON (15) R Hannon P Dobbs 56.5kg
12. NEVER NO MORE (7) A O’Brien P-C Boudot 56.5kg
13. I AM SUPERMAN (14) M O’Callaghan L Roche 56.5kg
14. SUNLIGHT (16) T & C McEvoy L Currie 55.5kg
15. ARCADIA QUEEN (5) C Waller J McDonald 55.5kg
16. MIZZY (6) A Cummings J Collett 55.5kg
17. FASIKA (11) J Pride Ms R King 55.5kg
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