The newly minted 2024 Verry Elleegant Stakes, formerly known as the Chipping Norton Stakes, casts an emotional shadow over Royal Randwick this Saturday.
Fangirl is tipped to go one better than her second in last year’s race leading markets on the 2024 Verry Elleegant Stakes this weekend. Photo: Steve Hart.
The renamed Group 1 race pays tribute to the recently deceased champion mare, Verry Elleegant, who dominated the previous iterations in 2021 and 2022.
The spirit of Verry Elleegant is expected to linger as Chris Waller‘s stable aims to claim victory in her honour.
Fangirl, a three-time Group 1 winner, stands as the clear favourite at $1.50 through Ladbrokes, looking to redeem herself after finishing second in the same race last year.
Fangirl’s recent form is compelling.
She dominated the Group 2 Apollo Stakes last month and boasts a strong record at Randwick over the 1600m distance, including a win in the prestigious King Charles III Stakes.
Top jockey James McDonald will be in the saddle, guiding her from barrier seven.
While Fangirl holds the favour, challengers exist.
Just Fine, trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, is undefeated at Randwick and returns from a Group 1 win in The Metropolitan over the spring last year.
The veteran galloper Think It Over, trained by Kerry Parker, also presents a threat, having previously bested Fangirl at this track and distance in the $1 million 7 Stakes.
The Verry Elleegant Stakes is set to run as Randwick Race 7 at 4:00pm (AEDT) on Saturday.
Other horses to watch include Buckaroo ($11) also hailing from the Waller camp and the James Cummings-trained champ Cascadian ($16).
2024 Verry Elleegant Stakes Field
| No | Last 10 | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | Probable Weight | Penalty | Hcp Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 241x6316x3 | THINK IT OVER | Kerry Parker | Nash Rawiller | 3 | 59kg | 120 | ||
| 2 | 4x5213x7x9 | CASCADIAN (GB) | James Cummings | Tom Marquand | 9 | 59kg | 114 | ||
| 3 | x77114x0x7 | ARAPAHO (FR) | Bjorn Baker | Zac Lloyd (a) | 8 | 59kg | 109 | ||
| 4 | x143x275x5 | BUCKAROO (GB) | Chris Waller | Tommy Berry | 1 | 59kg | 107 | ||
| 5 | 6061x1110x | JUST FINE (IRE) | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Regan Bayliss | 2 | 59kg | 106 | ||
| 6 | 222x0180x4 | NAVAJO PEAK | David Payne | Jason Collett | 4 | 59kg | 106 | ||
| 7 | 210x0488x6 | LINDERMANN | Chris Waller | Tim Clark | 5 | 59kg | 102 | ||
| 8 | Px9911872x | ATHABASCAN (FR) | John O’Shea | Tyler Schiller | 6 | 59kg | 99 | ||
| 9 | 27x13174x1 | FANGIRL | Chris Waller | James McDonald | 10 | 57kg | 119 | ||
Table Credit: Racing Australia.
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