The Royal Blue brigade are set to dominate Saturday’s Group 1 $1 million Mostyn Copper Randwick Guineas (1600m) with the Godolphin-raced Anamoe odds-on to add another elite level mile win to his CV.
Anamoe is odds-on favourite to win the Group 1 Randwick Guineas over the mile this weekend in Sydney. Photo: Steve Hart.
At time of publish, 11 hopeful three-year-olds remain in the field with the early withdrawal of Forgot You (7) and Ranch Hand (1) who head south to Flemington for the Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m) on firmer ground in Melbourne.
Currently the Randwick track in Sydney is rated a Heavy (10) after the state copped an absolute battering late in the week.
Those conditions will be testing, but markets suggest the James Cummings-trained Street Boss colt Anamoe will best handle them in his hunt for a third Group 1 victory.
The young champion has performed well on Soft going with two wins and two seconds to date, but is yet to race on a proper mud track.
Winner of the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m) before that devastating photo-finish second in the Cox Plate last spring, he is third-up on Saturday following two lead-up runs at Rosehill.
He resumed with a third in the Group 2 Expressway over the six furlongs and improved when posting a narrow victory on February 19 in the Group 2 Hobartville Stakes over 1400m.
Randwick Guineas betting at Ladbrokes.com.au has Anamoe, whose other top level success was as a two-year-old in the ATC Sires’ Produce, at $1.75 to salute again getting out over further with James McDonald coming back aboard.
“Anamoe has won on a Soft 7 but racing on a Heavy 10 is a completely different ball game,’’ McDonald told News Corp this week.
“At least he has some ‘creds’ on Soft ground so we are hopeful he can get through the going.
“But he’s a classy colt and that will take him a long way. He’s a beautiful animal and I’m sure he will run well in whatever conditions.”
Success for the punters will see Anamoe complete a rare classic double joining Weekend Hussler (2008) and The Autumn Sun (2019) as the only horses to win both the Caulfield Guineas and Randwick Guineas during their three-year-old seasons.
The other two at single-figures looking to rain on Anamoe’s parade are the place-getters out of the Hobartville Stakes trifecta with Hilal and Converge the dangers again paying $6 and $5.50 respectively to turn the tables on their last start conqueror.
The Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained Converge was third in both the Hobartville and the Group 3 Eskimo Prince Stakes (1200m) at Randwick prior to that with improvement to come.
The son of Frankel is a proven Group 1 miler having claimed Brisbane’s J.J. Atkins at the distance as a juvenile last winter, but is yet to win on anything worse than a Good rated course.
Hilal meanwhile could prove the value in the Randwick Guineas this season, the Team Hawkes-trained Fastnet Rock colt drawn well with William Pike in the saddle.
With a strong Randwick strike-rate (6:2-3-0) he comes via the same lead-up as Converge having run fifth with excuses fresh in the Eskimo Prince before the narrow second in the Hobartville.
He finished the spring saluting in the Group 2 Stan Fox Stakes (1500m) and $1 million Bondi Stakes (1600m), both run at Royal Randwick, and if he ticks that wet track box can challenge here.
With the track the unknown factor, the only horse in the race proven on Heavy going is the Bjorn Baker-trained Pierro colt War Eternal ($14) coming off a big win in easier company at Rosehill over 1400m.
The 2022 Randwick Guineas is scheduled as Race 8 at 4:40pm (AEDT) on Saturday’s bumper 10-race program.
