The Championships Day 2: Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Sydney Cup Preview & Tips
Day 2 of The Championships will be held this Saturday at Royal Randwick with four more Group 1 races highlighting the card. Day 1 was rightly postponed until the Monday after torrential rain turned the track into a bog. It favoured the front runners on Monday but held up ok as a Heavy rating. It’s going to leave a short five-day break for some of the horses backing up again on Saturday, so watch out for that with your betting.
The track is likely to start with a Soft 7 rating but if rain hits again during the day, then it could throw up some strange results.
Sydney Cup Preview – Randwick Race 8 3:55pm Saturday
It’s a strong line up for the 3,200 metre Sydney Cup but there are a couple who really stand out from the pack.
It’s really hard to look past Hartnell ($2.15 at Bet365). The four-year old has had a strong preparation with a brave runner-up result in the Chipping Norton to Contributer, and then two quality wins including the Group 1 BMW over the highly-rated Japanese horse To The World. Incredibly, he drops 5.5kg from that run, and he has a super record on soft ground. If he stays the distance, he’s the one to beat. Opened at $2.70 and that price has been smashed.
Who Shot Thebarman ($4.80 at CrownBet) loves the challenge of a big staying race and appears well set for the Sydney Cup. The third place finisher from last year’s Melbourne Cup, he was a fast-finishing fourth in the BMW and comes into this race well weighted.
Protectionist ($5 at Sportsbet) is the Melbourne Cup winner from last year but hasn’t been in the greatest of form this prep with a couple of average showings. Poorly weight here against his two main rivals and from the back of the field in a moderately-run race, hard to see him turning the tables here.
Big Memory ($16 at Ladbrokes) will enjoy the lighter weight and is a quality horse while Renew ($41 at Sportsbet) may be the best roughie to thrown into exotics. A proven stayer and will enjoy the conditions.
Verdict: Hartnell to win.
1st Hartnell
2nd Who Shot Thebarman
3rd Renew
4th Protectionist
Queen Elizabeth Stakes Preview – Randwick Race 9 4:35pm Saturday
Contributer was installed as the favourite for the $4 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes but after being on the drift all week after drawing the outside barrier, he was scratched late on Friday night after pulling up lame. It’s a shame as we felt he was going to be tough to beat.
It now looks like a race that will favour the Japanese raiders. Tosen Stardom ($7.50 at Bet365) will push forward to attempt to setup a solid tempo to favour stable mate To The World ($3.50 at Palmerbet). To The World looks to be the main threat with a tremendous international record and an ideal mapping to sit just off the pace. He was strong to the line, finishing second to Hartnell in the BMW in his first hit out and will be better for the run.
There are plenty of X-factors in this race that could surprise.
Criterion ($4.25 at Bet365) has now come right into calculations and will no doubt be well supported by the public after a solid preparation. The interesting runner is Cox Plate champion Adelaide ($6.50 at Palmerbet) is back fresh for a one-off crack at this race. He was awesome last prep and although it will be tough coming straight into this race first up, he’s clearly a class horse that can’t be discounted. The price on offer could be value.
Happy Trails ($26 at Sportsbet) offers a generous price while Royal Descent ($14 at Sportsbet) was courageous as always with a strong third in the Doncaster. We feel that you have to take on these two today simply off the back of a five-day turnaround from a heavy track. It’s a very tough ask.
Finally one of our favourites in Lucia Valentina ($16 at Bet365) would’ve loved a heavy track but will still enjoy a soft surface. She’s crying out for some give in the track so if there’s some rain about then she has the class to be in contention at good odds.
Verdict: With the scratching of Contributer, it looks like everything is in favour of To The World.
1st To The World
2nd Criterion
3rd Lucia Valentina
4th Adelaide
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Take note: Any of the tips in this article are simply the author’s opinion, so bet at your own risk and always gamble responsibly. Also be sure to check out the Before You Bet Twitter Page for all our thoughts in the lead up to bets! Happy punting!
