By Bren O'Brien
The prospect of jumping from barrier 10 in Saturday's $5 million All-Star Mile does not concern Alligator Blood's (All Too Hard) jockey Ryan Maloney, who expects the star 3-year-old to easily roll forward onto the pace.
The two likely leaders in the 15-horse field, Alligator Blood and Streets Of Avalon (Magnus) have both drawn double figures, with the G1 Futurity S. winner to come from barrier 11, but with no significant pace expected from the inside, Maloney feels the race should present itself well for the $2.70 pre-race favourite.
"I wouldn't have liked 15 and would have preferred inside 10, but with Streets Of Avalon outside of us, it has worked well," Maloney said. "He's so versatile my bloke. He's very push button, so we can assess going into the first corner and make our mind up from there."
"We can assess going into the first corner and make our mind up from there." - Ryan Maloney
The 3-year-old David Vandyke-trained gelding has built an amazing record of 10 wins from 11 starts, with his only defeat coming over this track and distance in last year's G1 Caulfield Guineas.
Saturday will be effectively his 10th run of his second preparation - he only had eight weeks off after that Caulfield Guineas defeat - but his jockey feels he is only improving with each run.
David Vandyke and Ryan Maloney
"He's just come on and seasoned right up and he just seems to be getting better," Maloney said. "I was a little bit concerned to see how he'd bounce back off the Australian Guineas, it was an outstanding performance, but his work this morning was as good as it’s been."
Statistically, horses from barrier 10 over the 1600 metres at Caulfield have had a winning strike rate of 8.6 per cent.
The New Zealand-trained mare Melody Belle (NZ) (Commands), the best credentialled horse in the race with 10 Group 1 wins already under her belt, has drawn statistically the most successful barrier in five.
Melody Belle (NZ) drew barrier five
Horses drawn barrier five in 1600 metre races at Caulfield win 11.7 per cent of races and the 5-year-old should get a perfect run with Opie Bosson on board from that spot.
In contrast, West Australian Superstorm (Sebring), who ran second to Alligator Blood in the G1 Australian Guineas, came up with a tricky barrier of 14, with the G1 Thousand Guineas winner Flit (Medaglia D'Oro {USA}), the lone runner for James Cummings, who trained the second and third horses in last year's All-Star Mile, to jump from barrier 15.
Fierce Impact (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), a Group 1 winner over the course and distance in the Toorak H., will jump from barrier 12, but did overcome barrier 15 in his Caulfield Group 1 win in the spring.
Fierce Impact (Jpn) will jump from barrier 12
Heart Of Puissance (Puissance De Lune {Ire}), Ciaron Maher and David Eustace's 3-year-old, gets the advantage of the inside barrier, with Star Missile (Smart Missile) on his immediate outside.
G1 Australian Cup runner-up Regal Power (Pierro) comes from barrier three, while Mr Quickie (Shamus Award), will be first-up into the race and come from barrier four.
Black Heart Bart (Blackfriars), a six-time Caulfield winner, comes from gate six, with G1 Epsom H. winner Kolding (NZ) (Ocean Park {NZ}) in gate seven.
Black Heart Bart drew barrier six
Aristia (Lonhro) (8) and So Si Bon (So You Think {NZ}) (9) both drew middle alleys while Dalasan (Dalakhani {Ire}), one of five 3-year-olds looking to emulate Mystic Journey's (Needs Further) success in the inaugural edition of the race, will have to overcome barrier 13.
Three emergencies were named for the race, Spanish Reef (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Admiral's Joker (Bel Esprit) and Gold Fields (Churchill Downs). Should they get a run, they will be placed in the barrier draw of the horse they replace in the field.
