Caulfield Cup winner Jameka will have to adapt to a heavy Rosehill track if she is to find her way back into the winner’s stall in the Group 1 $1.5m The BMW (2400m) on Saturday.
Last Saturday’s Golden Slipper Race Day was run on a very heavy track and the Rosehill track was again rated a heavy 10 on Wednesday morning for this weekend’s BMW meeting.
Jameka with Hugh Bowman back in the saddle, has drawn barrier two in the nine horse field and even though the Myboycharlie mare won the 2015 Group 1 $1m Crown Oaks (2500m) at Flemington on a heavy track, trainer Ciaron Maher is not sure how she is going to handle the heavy conditions at Rosehill.
“(She won the Crown Oaks at her only run on a heavy track) but it was nothing like the weather you’ve had up there this year and it was a different heavy,” Maher told The Daily Telegraph.
“That’s a big thing and I think on an even surface, anywhere from good to slow, she would be more than capable.
“Just on that real heavy it’s a bit unknown for her and she has never been on it.”
As well as having to handle the wet track conditions, Maher is also wary of the the former Kiwi trained four year old Tavago and super mudlark Our Ivanhowe who ploughed through the sloppy conditions last Saturday at Rosehill to score a commanding win in the Group 1 $700,000 Ranvet Stakes (2000m).
Jameka has also raced head to head with the Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young trained Tavago and was beaten convincingly by him when second in the Group 1 $2m BMW Australian Derby (2400m) at Randwick during the 2016 Sydney Autumn Carnival.
“They can obviously handle those conditions the ones in form up there,” Maher said.
“Tavago has beaten her before (in the Australian Derby) and he has already shown he can handle those conditions.
“He would probably be the hardest to beat and Our Ivanhowe just goes to a different level when he gets the right conditions like he did on Saturday.”
The Lee and Anthony Freedman trained Our Ivanhowe has drawn barrier seven and is backing up after winning the Ranvet Stakes last week with Golden Slipper winning jockey Ben Melham taking over from the suspended Kerrin McEvoy.
The Freedman’s will also saddle up English import Exospheric who has drawn the rails with Damien Oliver in the saddle.
Tavago scored his first win since his Australian Derby victory when he strode away in the straight to defeat Antonio Giuseppe in the Group 3 $350,000 McGrath Estate Agents Sky High Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill on March 11.
Blake Shinn was aboard in the Sky High Stakes and gets the ride again on Tavago who will jump from barrier four.
Jamkea will be lining up again against Humidor after running second to the Darren Weir trained four year old in the Group 1 $1.5m Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington on March 11.
Humidor has drawn barrier five with Australian Cup winning jockey Damian Lane in the saddle again.
Last year’s Crown Oaks winner Lasqueti Spirit was also nominated for the Group 1 $500,000 Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m) but trainer Lee Curtis is happy to line the three year old filly up against the older horses in The BMW under the weight for age conditions.
Brenton Avdulla is back on Lasqueti Spirit for the first time since their Crown Oaks victory in the Spring replacing Jay Ford and the filly will jump from the outside gate in the nine horse field.
Leading Sydney trainer Chris Waller will saddle up three runners in The BMW, Who Shot Thebarman (barrier 8), Grand Marshal (barrier 3) and Libran (barrier 6).
The field for the 2017 The BMW
No | Last 10 | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | Hcp Rating |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 501x5860x1 | OUR IVANHOWE (GER) | Lee & Anthony Freedman | Ben Melham | 7 | 59kg | 116 |
2 | x183538x63 | EXOSPHERIC (GB) | Lee & Anthony Freedman | Damien Oliver | 1 | 59kg | 112 |
3 | 6527255×36 | WHO SHOT THEBARMAN (NZ) | Chris Waller | Tim Clark | 8 | 59kg | 108 |
4 | x726910x99 | GRAND MARSHAL (GB) | Chris Waller | Jason Collett | 3 | 59kg | 107 |
5 | 341112×874 | LIBRAN (IRE) | Chris Waller | Glyn Schofield | 6 | 59kg | 107 |
6 | 31129×4221 | HUMIDOR (NZ) | Darren Weir | Damian Lane | 5 | 58.5kg | 112 |
7 | 3061x00x51 | TAVAGO (NZ) | Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young | Blake Shinn | 4 | 58.5kg | 110 |
8 | 471210×442 | JAMEKA | Ciaron Maher | Hugh Bowman | 2 | 56.5kg | 113 |
9 | 538241×027 | LASQUETI SPIRIT | Lee Curtis | Brenton Avdulla | 9 | 52kg | 103 |