SuperCoach Racing: 10 Group 1 horses to watch during the 2019 spring racing carnival
No Winx, no problem. There will be plenty of star horsepower to watch this spring carnival to build your SuperCoach stable around as Round 1 starts this weekend.
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The spring carnival will be without Winx for the first time in five years but that hasn’t diminished the quality vying for Group 1 glory this year.
These are the 10 horses which could make a splash in the major spring contests.
Some have been set at the maximum SuperCoach price, but there are steals on the list.
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MYSTIC JOURNEY
4YO mare
SuperCoach price: $500,000
15 starts: 11-1-0. Prizemoney: $3,518,600
Trainer: Adam Trinder
Target: Cox Plate (October 26)
She has become the headline horse for the spring following the retirement of Winx. The powerful mare has built an imposing record with 11 wins from 15 starts — including the Australian Guineas and All-Star Mile. Her seven-win streak came to an end on Saturday but the Cox Plate favourite will keep improving.
SANTA ANA LANE
7YO gelding
SuperCoach price: $500,000
34 starts: 10-1-5. Prizemoney: $5,234,836
Trainer: Anthony Freedman
Targets: The Everest (October 19), VRC Sprint Classic (November 9)
A crushing win in the TJ Smith Stakes last April confirmed his standing as Australia’s best sprinter. The five-time Group 1 winner with seek atonement in The Everest after flopping on the heavy track in last year’s race.
AVILIUS
6YO gelding
SuperCoach price: $500,000
21 starts: 11-2-2. Prizemoney: $2,763,710
Trainer: James Cummings
Target: Cox Plate (October 26)
Will be targeted at the Cox Plate again after last year’s fourth, and could pose as Mystic Journey’s biggest threat. He concluded his autumn campaign with back-to-back Group 1 wins before adding the Group 1 George Main Stakes to his tally in emphatic style last Saturday.
ARCADIA QUEEN
4YO mare
SuperCoach price: $375,000
7 starts: 6-0-1. Prizemoney: $1,204,785
Trainer: Chris Waller
Targets: The Everest (October 19), Golden Eagle (November 2)
The exciting Perth mare announced herself as possibly racing’s “next big thing” after her stunning 4½-length win in the Kingston Town Stakes last December. She returned with a sizzling win in her Sydney debut on Saturday and went close to breaking the Rosehill 1300m track record. She was already locked in for The Everest but the Golden Eagle looks to be the perfect race for her.
PIERATA
5YO horse
SuperCoach price: $475,000
21 starts: 8-6-2. Prizemoney: $3,629,700
Trainer: Greg Hickman
Targets: The Everest (October 19), VRC Sprint Classic (November 9)
The Everest has been a 12-month plan for connections after he missed out on a slot in last year’s race, winning the Sydney Stakes on the same day in faster time. After winning the Group 1 All Aged Stakes in April, he was the first horse snapped up for this year’s Everest. He backed up an outstanding first-up run with victory in the Group 2 The Shorts last Saturday.
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HOMESMAN
6YO gelding
SuperCoach price: $400,000
14 starts: 5-4-1
Prizemoney: $1,723,139
Trainer: Liam Howley
Targets: Underwood Stakes (September 29), Cox Plate (October 26)
The Caulfield Cup runner-up resumed with a comfortable win in the Feehan Stakes, indicating he’s on track to win another Underwood Stakes. The main goal this time is the Cox Plate, which has eluded owner Lloyd Williams.
HAPPY CLAPPER
9YO gelding
SuperCoach price: $475,000
43 starts: 11-12-5. Prizemoney: $6,953,100
Trainer: Pat Webster
Key target: TBC
The ageless warrior showed he hasn’t lost his appetite for racing when second in the Winx Stakes. His spring campaign last year was cut short after he bled from the nostrils but he bounced back in the autumn with back-to-back seconds behind Winx. His battles with the champion mare — “The Clapper” has finished runner-up to the champion mare five times — has endeared him to racing fans.
BRUTAL
4YO horse
SuperCoach price: $375,000
7 starts: 4-1-1. Prizemoney: $2,289,650
Trainer: Michael, Wayne and John Hawkes
Key target: Golden Eagle (November 2)
Last autumn’s Doncaster Mile winner will likely make a brief appearance in the spring, with a virus delaying his return and quashing Everest ambitions. The lightly-raced four-year-old will now be set for the Golden Eagle.
NATURE STRIP
5YO gelding
SuperCoach price: $450,000
17 starts: 10-2-0. Prizemoney: $1,275,285
Trainer: Chris Waller
Target: TBC
After two Group 1 failures, the enigmatic sprinter silenced the doubters when he won The Galaxy in March. Flopped in his return as a short-priced favourite, but when allowed to race freely he’s a speed machine over 1000m and 1100m. He’ll be out to make amends in the Moir Stakes at the Valley. The Schillaci Stakes (1100m) and Manikato Stakes (1200m) are options for him.
OSBORNE BULLS
6YO gelding
SuperCoach price: $425,000
19 starts: 9-7-2. Prizemoney: $2,859,510
Trainer: James Cummings
Key targets: The Everest (October 19), VRC Sprint Classic (November 9)
Punters have found him both exciting and excruciating to watch with his charge-home finishing burst. Even though he is yet to win a Group 1 he went heartbreakingly close to landing one last campaign with five consecutive runner-up placings. Finished third in last year’s Everest as a late replacement.
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Originally published as SuperCoach Racing: 10 Group 1 horses to watch during the 2019 spring racing carnival