Australian Cup winner Fifty Stars ruled out of All-Star Mile
Another slot has opened up in the All-Star Mile with trainer David Hayes preferring to target more Group 1 features with Australian Cup winner Fifty Stars. Plus, Leo Schlink wraps up the racing week.
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David Hayes and Gerry Ryan have prioritised Fifty Stars’ long-term welfare by abandoning All-Star Mile plans with the Australian Cup winner.
Guaranteed a start in Saturday’s $5 million contest, Fifty Stars was officially withdrawn after Hayes and Ryan opted to target Sydney features with the impeccably-bred son of super-sire Sea The Stars.
“We don’t want to put the horse at risk by starting him three times in three weeks,” Hayes said, referring to the five-year-old’s Blamey Stakes and Australian Cup wins over the past two weeks.
“Gerry and I put the horse first. The All-Star Mile money ($2.5 million to the winner) is tempting, but we’re going to avoid temptation.”
Guaranteed a stud career after securing Group 1 status in the Australian Cup, Fifty Stars will be aimed at the Ranvet Stakes in two weeks before tackling the Queen Elizabeth Stakes next month.
“Gerry is keen on Group 1s and so are we,” Hayes said of co-trainers Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig.
Fifty Stars’ exit will trigger a scramble among the All-Star Mile’s provisional emergencies ahead of Tuesday’s acceptance deadline.
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Godolphin filly Flit, sitting second on the emergency list, is poised to replace Kiwi Catalyst with James Cummings unlikely to take No.1 emergency Avilius to Caulfield.
Australian Cup runner-up Regal Power now seems certain to gain a start, replacing Fifty Stars.
If so, jockey William Pike is in the enviable position of choosing between Regal Power and Australian Guineas runner-up Superstorm.
Both gallopers are owned by WA businessman Bob Peters.
And if Super Seth bypasses the All-Star Mile, Kings Will Dream and So Si Bon could be promoted into the field.
Hayes said under-performing imports Constantinople and Cape Of Good Hope had both pulled up with issues after finishing 12th and 13th respectively in the Australian Cup.
Constantinople suffered an internal bleed and wrenched a joint and will be gelded before resuming.
Cape Of Good Hope will undergo scintigraphy to determine what unknown issues the Group 1 winner might be battling after another failure.
“I think both horses have had acclimatisation issues,” Hayes said.
“Cape Of Good Hope’s form is well below what he’s capable of and we want to have him checked out fully.
“He’s much better than the way he’s racing.”
MONDAY RACEBOOK
STILL THE BOSS
Glen Boss’s star refuses to dim. At 50, the Queenslander continues to excel, evidenced by Saturday’s Flemington double on Bivouac and Sangria. Bivouac’s facile Newmarket Handicap win marked Boss’s first Flemington Group 1 since Shamrocker’s 2011 Australian Guineas. Since returning to Australia from Singapore last year, Boss has landed the Doncaster, Everest, Epsom Handicap, Golden Eagleand the Newmarket. He now owns 83 Group 1s and, as proved at the weekend, is riding as well as ever.
ROTTEN RESULT FOR PUNTERS
The fate of punters who waded into Russian Camelot on Saturday was sealed the moment the import missed the start under Damian Lane by three lengths. Beaten 2.7 lengths, the barrier mishap proved decisive, much to the chagrin of the colt’s admirers. Stewards simply reported Russian Camelot was slow to begin before he unleashed race-best splits between the 600-400m and the 200m to the line. The result, although negative for punters, underlined the surging quality and consistency of Danny O’Brien’s operation. The Melbourne Cup-winning trainer’s 24 metropolitan winners have come at a healthy strike rate of 14 per cent this season. But with a further 51 minor placings, O’Brien’s ratio of top-three finishers to starters is a staggering 43 per cent.
TRAINING DUO TAKES FIGHT TO VCAT
Terry and Karina O’Sullivan justifiably jubilated in Group 2 Sires Produce Stakes glory on Saturday when Lunar Fox saluted. The father and daughter training tandem will face a more daunting scenario on Wednesday when they learn their fate at Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal over cobalt charges involving two horses in 2015-16. The duo faces a lengthy stint on the sidelines after an appeal against one-year bans issued by the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board was dismissed late last year.
DRUGS CRUSADER’S FLEMINGTON VISIT
Travis Tygart rose to international fame as the man who exposed the deception that was Lance Armstrong’s decorated, now bankrupt, cycling career. The US lawyer was spotted at Flemington last week when he continued his crusade to collect as much intelligence from integrity officials from as many sports as possible. Chief executive of the US Anti-Doping Agency, Tygart has consistently urged officials – including those within racing – to ensure clear separation between those who promote sport and those who police it. His message continues to resonate globally.
WEEK AHEAD
The $5 million All-Star Mile dominates the Victorian landscape with the second running of the world’s richest 1600m race. In the absence of last year’s winner Mystic Journey, the early markets suggest the prize could be landed again by a three-year-old,notably Alligator Blood or Superstorm. Racing resumes today at Ballarat before action switches to Kilmore Tuesday.
Sandown hosts Wednesday before Warrnambool and Pakenham share the Thursday spotlight with day and night fixtures.Kyneton kicks off Friday action before focus switches to The Valley for the running of the Alister Clark Stakes. Caulfield dominates Saturday’s billing with meetings at Geelong and Dederang (picnic).
Sale, Benalla and Woolamai (picnic) race on Sunday.