Queensland Racing Carnival’s showcase event Stradbroke Day is bound to enthrall with Saturday’s Eagle Farm meeting playing host to three million-dollar features.
Headlined by the time-honoured Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap, fellow Group 1 feature the JJ Atkins and the Group 2 The Q22 will play admirable undercards on Saturday, with prizemoney for the carnival’s premiere day accumulating just shy of $5 million.
Hosting the previous three weekends of the carnival, Saturday’s Eagle Farm meeting will encompass two Group 1’s, three Group 2’s and a stack of other black-type contests across the exciting nine-race card.
Spearheading Saturday’s proceedings is the days namesake event the $1.5 million Stradbroke Handicap (1400m).
Having had his goalposts readjusted after a disappointing performance in the Hollindale Stakes, four-year-old gelding Ayrton sits atop in early betting for the in-form Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr) stable.
Electric first-up in the Victoria Handicap before a rearward finish last-time, the Price & Kent team will be hoping the return to a dry surface and a month between runs will see a much-improved performance from their son of Iffraaj.
Other nominated runners who have gone up single digits in early markets include the Kingsford Smith Cup victor Apache Chase, placegetter Eleven Eleven, and Alligator Blood, who under the care of new trainers Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott looks to have returned to his brilliant two and three-year old form.
Continuing to prove as one of the nation’s best two-year-old contests, Saturday’s JJ Atkins (1600m) will once again feature some of the country’s most promising juveniles.
Having gone toe-to-toe with each other last weekend, Political Debate and Sharp N Smart sit atop in early betting for the million-dollar event, with promising WA talent and last start winner of the Sires Produce Sheeza Belter also joining the duo at a single figure quote.
Other intriguing nominations include the Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou pairing Brosnan and Green Shadows, with the latter finishing an eye-catching fifth behind Sheeza Belter at his latest outing.
In a field that looks likely to line up extremely similar to that of the Doomben Cup, victor of said race Huetor comprehensively heads the market to take out the remaining million-dollar feature – the Group 2 The Q22 (2200m).
Hopeful to reverse the ledger on the French import is John O’Shea’s English runner Maximal. Making a promising Australian debut in last October’s Golden Eagle, the son of Galileo had struggled to live up to the hype in his proceeding runs but looks to have now re-discovered himself after charging home strongly to finish hot on the heels of Huetor last start, while also downing Zaaki in the process.
The remaining black-type events on Saturday include two Group 2 contests In the Brisbane Cup (3200m) and Dane Ripper Stakes (1300m), the Group 3 Gunsynd Classic (1600m), and Listed events in the Wayne Wilson (1600m), Hinkler Handicap (1200m) and Oxlade Stakes (1300m).
With ideal conditions forecast for the remainder of the week, the Eagle Farm surface is currently rated a Good 4, with the rail sitting in the four-metre position the course entire.