Ciaron Maher and David Eustace are relying on race experience to give their trio of Inglis Nursery runners an edge as they hunt for their third win in the $500,000 feature.
The training powerhouses, who have taken out the race with Acrobat in 2020 and El Padrino in 2021, saddle-up colts Odinson and Sacred Fort, along with impressive debut winner Deep Joy.
Only five of the 15 runners in Saturday’s Inglis Nursery (1000m) have raced before, three of them belonging to Maher and Eustace, and the latter is banking on that match practice proving crucial.
“You see it time and time again, the real topliners probably don’t need that run or two, but the others tend to, so it’s got to be a plus,” Eustace said.
Odinson comes to Sydney after a closing third in the Maribyrnong Plate (1000m) at Flemington on Melbourne Cup Day when he ran on resolutely to be beaten less than half a length.
While he was ridden patiently that day, Eustace said his start would dictate where he settled from the widest draw in the 15-strong Inglis Nursery field.
“We will probably see how he jumps. He’s got the race experience, not a lot of horses in the field actually have that, so that’s a big plus as we know,” he said.
“He’s had a trial in between and he looks to have trained on really well.
“We really liked his first run, he just lacked a bit of know-how at the end of the race but he’s a nice horse.”
Odinson is new to the clockwise direction of racing and Eustace admits that will be a challenge as the horse “hasn’t been an absolute natural” when training on his Sydney leg.
However, the stable is banking on the colt’s instincts and jockey Tyler Schiller’s horsemanship to navigate it.
Filly Deep Joy has also impressed the team, the daughter of Deep Field producing a dashing late finish to overpower her rivals on debut over 900m at Newcastle.
While she will appreciate further than the 1000m of Saturday’s race, Eustace says the roomy Randwick circuit will be ideal.
“Really nice filly, she’s not very big either, but she has always had a big action for a small filly,” Eustace said.
“It wasn’t a surprise to see her do that on debut. That was over 900, to be honest she is probably looking for 1100 or 1200 now, but 1000 at Randwick will still be a plus from 900 at Newcastle.”
Sacred Fort rounds out the Maher-Eustace squad, having finished a solid third to Deep Joy at his first start to earn a spot in Saturday’s race.
“He’s a workmanlike two-year-old and the race doesn’t look overly strong this year, it’s good prizemoney, so he deserves his shot at it,” Eustace said.
Sacred Fort is the longest priced of their three runners at $19, while Odinson and Deep Joy are prominent in early markets at $4.60 and $5 respectively.
Betting is headed by Maribyrnong Plate runner-up Blue Stratum at $3.70 with online bookies.