The market order for the Group 2 $200,000 Bloodstock.com.au Premiere Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on Saturday has tightened up after top fancy Rain Affair was scratched this morning.
Rain Affair is another one of the Joe Pride stable not racing on Saturday after being withdrawn from the Premiere Stakes at Randwick. Photo by Steve Hart.
Rain Affair will spend the weekend in his yard with stablemate and pre-post Epsom Handicap favourite Rock Sturdy who was also forced out of contention on Super Saturday after sustaining leg injury on Wednesday morning.
With the withdrawal of Rain Affair, the Noel Mayfield-Smith trained Famous Seamus is the $2.50 favourite with Ladbrokes.com.au just ahead of I’ve Got The Looks, $3.70, from the Peter and Paul Snowden stable.
While the other three runners under double figures in the seven horse field are Generalife at $4.60, Sincero at $8 and Charlie Boy at $9.
Wouldnt It Be Nice, $21, and Scorpio Queen, $31, are the two outsiders of the field.
Premiere Stakes favourite Famous Seamus collected a Group 1 win during the Brisbane Winter Carnival when he swamped the field in the $400,000 Bundaberg Distilling Co. BTC Cup (1200m) at Doomben on May 10 and resumed from a spell with an eye catching third to Terravista in the Group 2 $200,000 Bowermans Office Furniture Shorts (1100m) at Randwick on September 20.
Trainer Joe Pride had planned to put the blinkers on Rain Affair to try to help the seven year old find his way back into the winner’s stall for the first time since winning the Group 3 $125,000 McGrath Real Estate Agents Missile Stakes (1200m) at Randwick just over twelve months ago.
But the week continued to turn sour for Pride who vented his frustration on Twitter.
“Rain Affair out of the premiere what a shit week!,” Pride tweeted on Friday morning.
Even though Pride lost the promising Rock Sturdy early in the week, he will still have a runner in the Group 1 $500,000 The Star Epsom (1600m) with the stable deciding to run Rosehill Guineas winner Laser Hawk.
Singapore based jockey Corey Brown was booked to ride Rock Sturdy and will still make the trip to ride Laser Hawk who found some form at his third run for the Pride stable when third to Sacred Falls in the Group 1 $350,000 George Main Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on September 20.
Laser Hawk had been previously trained by Gai Waterhouse and while under her care took out the 2012 Group 1 $500,000 Flinders Lane Rosehill Guineas (2000m) at Rosehill.
Laser Hawk is an $8.50 chance in The Star Epsom behind Royal Descent at $4.40, Toydini and He’s Your Man at $6 and Boban at $7.
