The field for the Group 2 $250,000 Inglis Villiers Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday has been reduced to sixteen runners with the early scratching of Kenjorwood.
Kenjorwood, above, has been scratched from the Villiers Stakes at Randwick and will run in the Chanteclair Handicap at Flemington. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.
The Darren Weir trained Kenjorwood will join the other Villiers Stakes scratching Loyalty Man and run at Flemington in the $90,000 Chanteclair Handicap (1600m).
The betting for the Villiers Stakes at Ladbrokes.com.au is virtually unchanged with the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott trained Fabrizio at the top of the market order at $3.20 ahead of Victorian galloper Hazzabeel at $8.50 and James Cummings’ High Midnight at $9.
Kenjorwood has plenty of weight to carry in the Chanteclair Handicap with his allocated 60kg reduced to 58.5kg courtesy of apprentice Jye McNeil’s 1.5kg claim and is well in the betting at $6.
The Lindsay Park trained Mihany heads the market order for the Chanteclair Handicap at $3.50 just ahead of the well supported Burning Front who has formed in from $5 to $4.80 while Loyalty Man is listed as a $7 chance.
Weir was keen to head to Sydney with Kenjorwood but a wide barrier draw at sixteen has influenced the premiership winning trainer to stay in Melbourne with the seven year old gelding and he has also scratched Lucky Paddy, Hijack Hussy and Lord Van Percy from their Randwick engagements.
“Lord Van Percy and Hijack Hussy will run in Melbourne because they look more suitable races and the main one is Kenjorwood. He drew wide and we are going to wait and run him in Melbourne as well,” Weir told racing.com.
“If he had drawn a gate I would have went but it is just hard when you draw out.
“Those three are going run in Melbourne instead of Sydney and Lucky Paddy will wait for the Koroit Cup at Warrnambool.”
Kenjorwood ran his best race this campaign at his third run in when second to Mihany in the $90,000 Memorial Handicap (1600m) at Pakenham on December 3 and has drawn barrier eight in the eleven horse Chanteclair Handicap field.
