Trainer James Cummings is expecting Alizee to come off a seven day back up in top order heading towards the Group 1 $1m Coolmore Legacy Stakes (1600m) on Day Two of The Championships at Randwick on Saturday.
Alizee, above, is set to back up in the 2019 Coolmore Legacy Stakes at Randwick. Photo by Steve Hart.
Alizee ran well below her best on a rain affected track on Day One of The Championships last Saturday when seventeenth to Brutal in the Group 1 $3m The Star Doncaster Mile (1600m) at Randwick but Cummings has no problem with backing up the Group 1 winning mare week to week.
“The tempo was against her and it was run on heavy ground which she isn’t as effective,” Cummings said.
“She was too well on Tuesday morning not to accept.”
“This is it for her current campaign and she’ll be in the paddock on Monday.”
Alizee will be having her third run over 1600m this campaign in the Coolmore Legacy Stakes after running third in the $5m All-Star Mile (1600m) at Flemington on March 16 but Cummings said that the mare will be restricted to a sprinting campaign during the 2019 Spring Carnival.
Cummings is eyeing off a slot in the $14m The Everest (1200m) at Randwick on October 19 which will be one of the mares’ major Spring Carnival goals.
“She’ll come back as 600 kilos of muscle targeting the 1,200m weight-for-age races in the spring,” Cummings said.
Alizze is the winner of three Group 1 races, two over the famous Randwick 1600m course which includes last year’s Coolmore Legacy Stakes as well as the 2017 Group 1 $500,000 Flight Stakes (1600m) during her three year old season.
Alizee’s other Group 1 victory was three starts back in the $500,000 Yulong Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield with Hugh Bowman in the saddle.
Bowman finds himself back aboard the four year old mare, replacing Doncaster Mile jockey Blake Shinn who takes the ride on the Chris Waller trained Prompt Response (barrier 6) in the Coolmore Legacy Stakes.
Alizee has drawn barrier twelve in the nineteen horse Coolmore Legacy Stakes field and sits at the top of the market order at $5.50 at Ladbrokes.com.au ahead of Surround Stakes winner Nakeeta Jane at $8.50 and the Thousand Guineas winner Amphitrite at $9.
