The Coolmore Classic has been a happy hunting ground for outsiders in recent years and several trainers fancy their chances of continuing that trend at Rosehill.
The last favourite to claim the fillies and mares feature was Aloha in 2011, while 13 of the past 20 winners have started at double-figure odds.
Revolutionary Miss ($14), Renaissance Woman ($51) and Barbie’s Fox ($61) all fit the outsider’s bill and their respective trainers can make individual cases for them to stage an upset.
Four-year-old Revolutionary Miss has been in career-best form this season, winning four of her past five starts, the last two in succession.
All of those victories have been in Melbourne, but co-trainer Paul Snowden says that is a function of the calendar, not a preference for racing anti-clockwise.
“They cater for fillies down there better than we do, simple as that,” Snowden said.
“She makes her own luck, she usually finds the right spot, especially with Michael Dee on, he’s got a really good association with her.
“She has narrowly gone down in Group Ones twice now, so it would be really great for the ownership group to tick this one.”
Lindsay Park rarely gets it wrong when they bring a horse to Sydney and Ben Hayes believes Barbie’s Fox can belie her quote, pointing to her close fourth in the Epsom Handicap during the spring.
The mare is coming off a fifth in the Guy Walter Stakes and is a winner at the track and distance.
“It was a good run at Randwick last start. She hit the line really well,” Ben Hayes said.
“She enjoys give in the track, so any rain would be a bonus, and she’s a sneaky chance in a race like that with no weight.
“She ran fourth in the Epsom last spring, so she’s been competitive in those Group One handicaps before.”
The Bjorn Baker-trained Renaissance Woman is also at long odds after disappointing first-up in the Millie Fox Stakes (1300m).
However, Baker has made a key gear change to the multiple stakes winner and is hopeful the addition of blinkers can help the enigmatic mare find her best form on Saturday.
“She can be a little bit hard to catch, but her best form is second-up and 1500 is definitely more in her distance range as opposed to 1300,” Baker said.
“Her work has been good and the blinkers go on. She was really sharp working in them a couple of weeks ago.”
Millie Fox Stakes winner Zougotcha ($4) is the horse tasked with breaking the run of outs for the favourites, the mare holding market sway ahead of three-year-olds Tropical Squall and Kimochi, who are $7.50 apiece with popular betting apps.
