Wet track specialist Redzel is a narrow favourite in the betting for the 2019 Group 2 $500,000 Bowermans Office Furniture Shorts (1100m) at Randwick on Saturday.
Redzel, above winning the 2019 Concorde Stakes, will be right at home a rain affected track in The Shorts at Randwick. Photo by Steve Hart.
The betting for The Shorts at Ladbrokes.com.au had to re-assessed after the early scratchings of The Everest equal favourite Santa Ana Lane and multiple Group 1 winning mare Sunlight because of the heavy track conditions.
Redzel excels in the wet and is now the $3.90 favourite for the Shorts at Ladbrokes.com.au just ahead of arch rival Pierata and the Les Bridge trained Classique Legend at $4 while the James Cummings trained Osborne Bulls isn’t far off the pace at $5.
The Randwick track has been rated a heavy 9 on Friday morning after receiving 82.8mm over the last seven days and Redzel will be right at home with a heavy track record of three wins, two seconds and a third from eight outings on heavy ground which includes his 2018 all the way The Everest win on a heavy 9.
Redzel is on track to claim a third straight win in the $14m The Everest (1200m) at Randwick on October 19 after a gutsy first win in the Group 3 $160,000 Forum Concorde Stakes (1200m) at Randwick a fortnight ago.
Kerrin McEvoy will stick with the Peter and Paul Snowden trained Redzel in The Shorts after he steered the seven year old to an all the way win in the Concorde Stakes, holding off the fast finishing Pierata.
Redzel will have no trouble finding the front again after drawing the rails while Tommy Berry will probably settle Pierata in the second half of the field from barrier seven.
The Greg Hickman trained Pierata also has winning wet track form with a win, a second and a third from four heavy track outings.
Co-trainer Peter Snowden was very happy with Redzel’s first up win in the Concorde Stakes, but said all he is asking from the stable’s star sprinter in The Shorts is another honest run in preparation for The Everest.
“He was great,” Snowden told AAP.
“He’s ticked that box this preparation. The next start is important but not a gut-buster because it is four weeks from there until The Everest and that’s the one we want to have him bang-on for.
“Off a peak performance it’s very hard to replicate that again in two weeks and then again in four weeks, so in my mind if he’s a bit off next week I won’t be too perturbed about it.
“I hope he wins, but I won’t be disappointed if he doesn’t because I know what I’ve got to do for the next four weeks.
“He was wound up to run well first-up but he’s not there yet. Hopefully we get it right.”
Betting for The Shorts at Ladbrokes.com.au: $3.90 Redzel, $4 Pierata, Classique Legend, $5 Osborne Bulls, $12 In Her Time, $13 Graff, $16 Home Of The Brave, $31 Viridine, $41 Jonker.
