The $700,000 Ranvet Stakes is the first of five Group 1’s on the card at Rosehill on Saturday as punters prepare for the third stoush between defending champion Addeybb and Verry Elleegant.
William Haggas’ Irish import wore down Chris Waller’s mighty mare in the final stages last year, and it is no surprise to find the champion stayer at very short odds with another wet track expected.
Can Adeybb add a third Group 1 in his return to Australia? Or will Verry Elleegant turn the tables?
Find out everything you need to know in our 2021 Ranvet Stakes Preview here!
Addeybb
Adeybb was well-supported in Ladbrokes’ All-In Ranvet Stakes market ahead of his journey back to Australia.
The Irish raider won this same race by a narrow margin to Saturday’s rival Verry Elleegant last year before gapping the Waller mare by three-lengths a fortnight later in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick.
Since then, the champion Irish raider has gone on to finish runner-up in the Group 1 Prince Of Wales Stakes back at Ascot, followed by consecutive wins in the Listed Doonside Cup and the Group 1 Champion Stakes during the Spring.
The son of Pivotal tends to do his best racing fresh and there is no question he has improved since he won this race 12 months ago.
With his eye towards another Queen Elizabeth, the seven-year-old looks extremely tough to beat with another wet track expected.
Master Of Wine
Master Of Wine is looking to improve on his first-up assignment where he made up decent ground in the late stages for sixth in the Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes.
The Hawkes-trained six-year-old won the Group 3 Sky High Stakes over this track and trip last year and was far from disgraced when fourth in the Queen Elizabeth.
A win looks tough with two world class horses in the field, but with strong form to his name on the soft and the heavy, a top three performance isn’t out of the question.
Prince Fawaz
It’s been close to two years since Prince Fawaz won the Group 1 J.J. Atkins at Eagle Farm as the favourite.
The son of Fastnet Rock was the surprise place-getter this time last year when he finished a narrow runner-up to Castelvecchio in the Rosehill Guineas, but he’s struggled to repeat that performance finishing dead last in both the Apollo Stakes and the Chipping Norton since returning to work.
After struggling on a soft track in both of those runs, he’ll only find this tougher.
Verry Elleegant
Seven time Group 1 winner Verry Elleegant has raised the bar since she came off second best to Addeybb in both the Ranvet and the Queen Elizabeth this time last year.
Since then, Chris Waller’s superstar mare has added a further three Group 1’s to her resume by taking out both the Turnbull Stakes and the Caulfield Cup during the Spring, followed by a gutsy win over Colette more recently in the Chipping Norton Stakes.
Those performances alone suggest the daughter of Zed has only gotten stronger with running – a welcome sign after Addeybb wore her down in last year’s edition with 100m to spare.
After following an identical lead-in to last year’s race, she’s more than capable of staging some revenge where she’ll meet her rival 2kg better off.
Nettoyer
Nettoyer is tough to recommend based on recent efforts.
The Sebring mare got away to a slow start first-up in the Aspiration Stakes a fortnight ago over the mile where she found herself too far back to strike.
Her efforts in both The Empire Rose Stakes and The Gong to close out the Spring were well below par, and while she has done some of her best racing with some sting out of the track, she’d she to produce something very special to beat home the top two in the market.
Ranvet Stakes Tips
Addeybb at $1.85