Golden Rose champion Jaquinot is back up to Group 1 grade this weekend with the gun colt now favourite to win the $750,000 Ladbrokes C.F. Orr Stakes (1400m).
Golden Rose winner Jacquinot chases a Melbourne Group 1 win Saturday’s 2023 CF Orr Stakes at Sandown. Photo: Steve Hart.
Elite level racing for 2023 is back in Melbourne on Saturday with Sandown Hillside hosting an intriguing edition of the Orr.
Ten weight-for-age hopefuls take to the track, and it is a wide-open CF Orr Stakes betting market at race sponsor Ladbrokes.
Sitting top of the odds after being well-supported early in from $4.20 to $3.30 for his second-up run is the Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr-trained son of Rubick, Jacquinot.
He returned with a narrow win over his own age in the Group 3 Manfred Stakes with a big weight and should appreciate the drop back to 55.5kg at WFA on Saturday.
Damain Lane continues associations from a gun gate four draw as Jaquinot looks to join Alabama Express (2020) as the only three-year-old CF Orr Stakes winners since All Too Hard (2013).
The other key chance in the markets is one-time favourite and Jaquinot’s stablemate, resuming Cox Plate runner-up I’m Thunderstruck ($4.80).
The talented Ms Jamie Kah rides the five-year-old son of Shocking fresh from barrier nine on the weekend as I’m Thunderstruck chases his first win since the narrow victory over Alligator Blood in the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) last September.
He was good when second to James Cummings’ stable ace Anamoe, who resumes in Sydney’s Group 2 Apollo Stakes this weekend, in both the Caulfield Stakes and Cox Plate in October before a last start fifth to Zaaki at Flemington in the Champions Stakes on November 5.
Occupying the third line of betting and also returning ahead of the autumn is the Lindsey Smith-trained Tuvalu ($6) drawn the rails with jockey Jarrod Fry aboard.
Tuvalu has won eight of his 14 starts to date and is yet to finish out of the money.
The five-year-old son of Kermadec is two-from-two at the Sandown track and was last seen running third to Alligator Blood in the Champions Mile on the back of his Toorak Handicap victory at Caulfield with a light weight.
Ben & JD Hayes are in with a strong hand saddling-up two genuine chances in this year’s CF Orr Stakes field with Gentleman Roy ($6.50), a first-up winner at the track and distance in stakes company on Australia Day, in gate three and the resuming Mr Brightside ($9.50) out in barrier 10 with Craig Williams in the saddle.
Nugget meanwhile rounds out the single-figure fancies at $8.50 with the flying galloper from the Maher/Eustace stable up notably in grade chasing a fourth straight win.
The 2023 Ladbrokes C.F. Orr Stakes is scheduled to run as Sandown Race 7 at 4:20pm (AEDT) on Saturday’s nine-race card.
