Highly rated Adelaide sprinter Eclair Choice will race in blinkers for the first time when he resumes in the Listed $120,000 1PRINT Carlyon Stakes (1000m) at Moonee Valley on Saturday.
Eclair Choice will wear the blinkers of the first time in the Carlyon Stakes at Moonee Valley. Photo by Sarah Ebbett.
Eclair Choice wore the blinkers when he blitzed Australian Guineas runner up Alpine Eagle in a 1000m barrier trial at Morphettville on August 7 and leading Adelaide trainer Phillip Stokes has decided to leave them on race day.
“I put blinkers on him for the first time and I don’t know if that had anything to do with it but I’ve decided to leave them on for Saturday,” Stokes told the Herald Sun.
Stokes is taking a positive form line through last Saturday’s Caulfield winner Setinum who took out the Listed $120,000 Winslow Group Regal Roller Stakes (1200m).
Three starts back Eclair Choice was beaten a head by Setinum in the Listed $150,000 Bendigo Guineas (1400m) at Bendigo on March 21 and Stokes thinks the form looks pretty good.
“If you go back through his form, the horse (Setinum) that won the Regal Roller Stakes on Saturday was the horse that beat him in the Bendigo Guineas last preparation, so that probably stands him in good stead,” Stokes said.
Following his second at Bendigo, Eclair Choice went on to win the Listed $80,000 Projection Graphics Redelva Stakes (1100m) at Morphettville on April 18 and was then beaten just over two lengths when fifth to Nicoscene in the Group 2 $250,000 William Hill Stakes (Euclase Stakes) (1200m) at Morphettville on May 9.
In the Carlyon Stakes at Moonee Valley on Saturday, Eclair Choice is currently the second pick at $3.90 with Ladbrokes.com.au and will be taking on David Hayes and Tom Dabernig’s smart mare Gregers ($2.25 favourite) who has been placed on three occasions at Group 1 level.
In her three year old season Gregers ran third to Guelph in the 2013 Group 1 $500,000 Schweppes Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield and was also placed in consecutive Group 1 $400,000 Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m) at Morphettville with a third to Driefontein in 2014 followed by a second to Miracles Of Life in 2015.
Also prominent in the betting at $7 is the Wendy Kelly trained Fast Cash who is having his first run back since finishing fifth in a 1400m three year old Handicap at Flemington on April 11.
Peter Moody’s well performed Il Cavallo is also among the main chances at $10 after scoring two starts back in a 1000m BenchMark 90 Handicap at Flemington on July 18 followed by a third in an Open Handicap on August 1 over this course and distance as the Carlyon Stakes.
