Winx scares away competition In Chelmsford Stakes
Star mare Winx will be back in action at Royal Randwick on Saturday and she is set to take on a very small field in the Chelmsford Stakes.
There were 16 runners in the 2015 edition of the Chelmsford Stakes, but Winx has scared away the majority of her potential rivals and there could be as little as six runners in the Group 2 event this weekend.
Five of the six likely runners in the Chelmsford Stakes will be from the stable of Chris Waller, with Preferment, Grand Marshal, Who Shot Thebarman and Storm The Stars set to join Winx in the race.
The only non-Waller trained horse that is confirmed to take his place in the Chelmsford Stakes field is Godolphin-owned Hartnell.
Hartnell failed to perform at her best in the spring and only had the one race start in the autumn after finishing a flat fifth behind Winx in the Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) at Royal Randwick, but he returned to the races with an impressive effort in the Warwick Stakes.
It should come as no surprise that Winx will start her next race assignment as an extremely short-priced favourite in the 2016 Chelmsford Stakes betting market.
The Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes is the feature race at Moonee Valley on Saturday and it is set to be a far more competitive affair than the Chelmsford Stakes.
The Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes offers the winner ballot-exempt entry into the Cox Plate and The Cleaner has been able to take advantage of this fact for two consecutive years.
The Cleaner tired late when he returned to the races in the P.B. Lawrence Stakes, but he has always saved his best form for Moonee Valley and he has a genuine chance of becoming the first horse in history to win the Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes in three consecutive years.
The P.B. Lawrence Stakes is set to be the key form reference for the Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes and classy mare Miss Rose De Lago has the chance to complete the P.B. Lawrence Stakes/Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes double.
Miss Rose De Lago produced arguably the best performance of her career to date to take out the P.B. Lawrence Stakes and she looks well placed in the Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes – having won the Sunline Stakes over the same track and distance in the Sunline Stakes in the autumn.
One of the wildcards in the Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes could be Australian Derby winner Tavago.
Tavago was set to return to the races in the Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) last weekend, but he was scratched from the race after he pulled a tooth on the eve of the race.
The Trent Busuttin-trained galloper suffered no long-term effects from the incident and he trialed well at Cranbourne earlier in the week.
Another horse that could head into the Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes from a different path is Darren Weir-trained Mahuta.
Weir plans to back Mahuta up following his gutsy third place finish in the Memsie Stakes at Caulfield last Saturday and the Sandown Guineas winner will go into the race with a clear fitness edge over the rest of this field.