There were few surprises following the first round of acceptances for the Group 1 Patinack Farm Classic (1200m) which will take place at Flemington on November 10.
Con Karakatsanis is hoping to test Howmuchdoyouloveme at Group 1 level in the Patinack Farm Classic
One notable omission from the original list of nominations is Joe Pride-trained gelding Rain Affair who was sent to the paddock after failing in both the Concorde Stakes and Premiere Stakes early in the spring.
Ten Patinack hopefuls will be on display on Friday night, with all the horses in the Manikato Stakes field accepting for the spring’s second Group 1 sprint.
Heading the group is Queensland star Buffering and dual Group 1 winner Sea Siren.
One horse who is not running in the Manikato but has accepted for the Patinack is lightly-raced gelding Howmuchdoyouloveme who was dominant when leading from start to finish in Saturday’s Group 2 Caulfield Sprint (1100m).
Trainer Con Karakatsanis said after the race he hopes to head to the Patinack after Saturday week’s Salinger Stakes (1200m) and is expecting him to take a lot of improvement out of the first-up test.
“He was first-up for 10 weeks. He’s going to have a lot of improvement,” Karakatsanis said.
“He just puts himself in the race and he’s absolutely bomb proof. He’s got a big future.
“All going well we’ll head to the Salinger and then hopefully go straight into the Patinack.”
Gerald Ryan’s gun filly Snitzerland, who is unbeaten from four starts this spring, is also an acceptor but she would also have a quick turnaround as Ryan has stated all along that her primary target is the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) for three-year-olds on November 3.
Queensland trainer Tony Gollan has set the Patinack as the grand final for Group 1 winner Temple Of Boom but has also accepted with Spirit Of Boom who is likely to join Howmuchdoyouloveme in the Salinger.
