Warnie chasing consolation prize in Eye Liner Stakes after missing out on Stradbroke Handicap
A horse named after the great Shane Warne can go a long way towards earning himself a shot at a Melbourne spring carnival Group 1 by winning the Eye Liner Stakes at Ipswich.
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Australia’s cricketers couldn’t get it done in the recent World Test Championship final, but keen cricket fan Nathan Bennett is hoping his horse Warnie can pay tribute to legendary former spin king Shane Warne.
Syndicator Bennett, currently on holiday with his family travelling around WA in a motorhome, is convinced Warnie would have given the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap a mighty shake if he had scraped into the field.
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The four-year-old gelding was stranded as a Stradbroke emergency, ending up two outside the starting field, and will instead race for the consolation prize of the Listed Eye Liner Stakes (1350m) at Ipswich on Saturday.
Ciaron Maher-trained Warnie is the $2.50 favourite and looks the one to beat.
He flew home in the Group 2 Moreton Cup, finishing third behind Front Page, when a win would have given him a golden ticket into the Stradbroke.
He has drawn favourably in barrier three at Ipswich and Sydney jockey Regan Bayliss will ride.
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“He was surging home in the Moreton Cup and another 20m, he would have won and won his way into the Straddy,” Bennett said.
“This horse is flying and we were hopeful he would get in the Stradbroke, as with a light weight we were pretty confident he could have gone close.
“He has sometimes been cruelled by barriers this horse.
“But this time we have drawn well and out to the 1350(m) will really suit.
“He can race a bit closer to the speed than he has been and so with the barrier draw we can always find a spot, rather than be chasing them from right back in the field.
“I don’t think Ipswich is the place you want to be trying to come from too far back.”
Bennett purchased the galloper from a sale in Ireland and he had his first start in a two-year-old race at Royal Ascot in 2023 when James McDonald rode him.
The horse got his name because when it came time to name him, there was an Ashes cricket series on and Bennett always loved watching the late, great Warne take wickets.
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“We had to come up with a name really quickly and I just thought, the Ashes are on and that’s where Warnie used to do his best stuff,” Bennett said.
“We thought we would name him in honour of the great man.
“I have always loved cricket and now I love watching this horse named after Warnie go around.
“I was a bit surprised the name Warnie hadn’t already been taken, it was a lot easier than what I thought.”
The Warnie camp believes the gelding has a promising future and would love to deploy him in a Group 1 race in the Melbourne spring carnival.
“We want to try to get him to the (Group 1) Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes at Caulfield in September,” Bennett said.
“But we really need to win another race to get his rating up a touch more before we can really try to lock something like that in.
“We are chasing our tail a bit with him, we want to get the rating up now, and then we can back off him a bit and set him for a race like that.”
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Bennett also races Phillip Stokes-trained three-year-old gelding Stay Focused who is the $3.10 favourite in the TL Cooney (1350m) at Ipswich, despite drawing barrier 17.
“He can’t draw a barrier that horse, but he will be hard to beat if he can get even luck,” Bennett said.
“It looks a very winnable race for him, it’s just the barrier that is going to hurt him.”
Originally published as Warnie chasing consolation prize in Eye Liner Stakes after missing out on Stradbroke Handicap
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