Trainer Matthew Dunn is hoping Zamex will be on his best behaviour when the field jumps from the barriers in the Group 3 $125,000 XXXX Sunshine Coast Guineas (1600m) at the Sunshine Coast on Saturday.
Zamex, above, needs to be on his best barrier behaviour in the Sunshine Coast Guineas. Photo by Steve Hart.
Dunn is hoping Zamex can jump cleanly from gate two in the capacity eighteen horse field and take up a mid-field position and not be too far out of his ground as he was when he stormed home to win his last start in the Highway Handicap (1500m) at Rosehill on June 17.
“From his good draw, he’ll need to put himself in the race earlier,” Dunn told Racing Queensland News.
“He probably shouldn’t have won his last Highway. He was eight lengths off the lead at the 400 metres and still got up.”
“He’s only been beating class three horses that are trained in the country in NSW but he’s been running times equal to open company winners.
“He can’t afford to give away an eight length start in this race.”
“At his third start at the Gold Coast he stood in the barriers and flew home to run second to Niccanova.”
“He’ll never have much early speed that’s why I believe he’ll make a nice four-year-old stayer.”
The lightly raced three year old is the winner of four of his seven starts and is searching for a hat trick after winning the Highway Handicap (1400m) also at Rosehill two starts back.
Doomben 10000 winning jockey Jim Byrne takes the ride on Zamex who is well in contention at $7 at Ladbrokes.com.au for the Sunshine Coast Guineas.
The Team Snowden trained Acatour heads the market order at $4 ahead of Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott’s filly My True Love at $5 and Liam Birchley’s improving three year old Crack Me Up.
Premiership winning jockey Jeff Lloyd rides Acatour who drew barrier thirteen in the original draw but will move several spots when the final scratchings are taken on Saturday morning.
Acatour was a winner over the 2017 Sydney Autumn Carnival when he took out the Group 3 $200,000 Chine Horse Club Carbine Club Stakes (1600m) at Randwick and is coming off a fifth against the older horses in the Listed $175,000 City Of Ipswich Eye Liner Stakes (1350m) at Ipswich on June 17.
