Saturday preview: Schwarz looks to go out with a bang in a vintage Doomben 10,000

Cover photo courtesy of Racing Photos

The Big WFA Test: Will Schwarz retire a Doomben 10,000 hero?

Saturday’s Group 1 Doomben 10,000 is shaping up as a true test of class and tactics. With no three-year-olds in the field, all runners will carry the same weight, 58.5kg for the males and 56.5kg for the mares levelling the playing field in what promises to be a high-quality weight-for-age sprint. A possible heavy track looms as the only unpredictable factor in a field stacked with talent, featuring 11 Group 1 winners.

Among the most anticipated runners is Schwarz, the high-class son of Zoustar, who will be officially retired after this race to stand at Rosemont Stud in Victoria. His service fee is yet to be confirmed.

Trained by John O’Shea and Tom Charlton, Schwarz lines up off the back of a strong run in the G1 William Reid Stakes where he defeated Benedetta (Hellbent) and Jimmysstar (NZ) (Per Incanto {USA}), and his connections are hopeful that his form line holds up on Saturday.

Should Schwarz salute, he’ll join a select group of sprinters to complete the William Reid–Doomben 10,000 double since the Queensland feature switched to WFA conditions in 1997. The extremely popular Apache Cat (Lion Cavern {USA}) achieved the feat in both 2008 and 2009, while Spirit Of Boom won both in 2014 before becoming a top-tier sire.

Schwarz has already proven himself and built up a strong record having also won a pair of races at Group 2 level in the Missile Stakes at Randwick last year and the Australia Stakes at Moonee Valley in January. Now, he gets one final chance to add a second Group 1 to his CV before heading to the breeding barn.

O’Shea remains confident despite a wide barrier and told media during the week:

“The barrier is okay and it’s better than one,” O’Shea said.

“Drawing inside doesn’t suit his racing pattern and his work has been fantastic. The form out of the William Reid has been exceptional so he’s a chance of winning another Group 1.

“Saturday’s race is very interesting,” O’Shea said.

“We’re happy with his draw and there’s genuine tempo out wide from Overpass and a few others, so they won’t be loafing. It’ll be up to Craig to get him out and across to get a spot, so he’ll have every opportunity.

It is an opportunity that jockey Craig Williams was not expecting.

“Trying to win three Doomben 10,000s in a row is something that I am really excited about,” said Williams. “I got suspended in Hong Kong but there was a bit of flexibility with the (suspension) dates.

“Blake got suspended and had to choose which weekend he was suspended for and I was Johnny on the spot, I was quite lucky. My suspension is actually now starting on Sunday.”

Will Schwarz go out a Group 1-winning hero? It wont be easy as it is a vintage field, the hardest to beat may prove either to be one of the glamour sprinting mares in either Benedetta (Hellbent), or Sunshine In Paris (Invader).

Immediacy looking to make it three in a row in the Chairman’s

Cranbourne training duo Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young have Immediacy (NZ) (Tarzino {NZ}) in outstanding form heading into Saturday’s G3 Chairman’s Handicap at Doomben, with the gelding chasing a third consecutive victory.

The talented stayer has been in a rich vein of form this preparation, recording impressive wins at Mornington and Caulfield, both over 2000 metres and under handicap conditions, the same trip and setup he will face again this weekend.

While those victories came in slightly lesser company than what he faces in the Chairman’s, Immediacy’s class is not in question. As a 3-year-old, he captured the G2 Autumn Classic and ran strong fifths in both the G1 Rosehill Guineas and G1 Australian Derby, underlining his credentials.

Busuttin told Loveracing.nz earlier this week that there was some temptation to roll the dice in the upcoming G1 Doomben Cup, but he opted for a more measured approach.

“The reality is he’s probably not a Group One horse – he’s a Group Three, fringe Group Two horse – so you’ve got to put them in the right races,” Busuttin said.

“If he runs in the Doomben Cup he’s carrying weight-for-age against a horse like Antino, so we’d be happy to win a Group 3 race rather than go around and run fifth or sixth in a Doomben Cup.

“We’re just trying to win some races and pick up some prizemoney away from the better horses.”

While confident in Immediacy’s form, Busuttin admitted his optimism was slightly tempered when seeing the presence of high-class European import Sir Delius (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the final field.

“I was confident and then I was just having a look through the nominations and saw Gai (Waterhouse) had one in there that had its last start in the G1 Arc de Triomphe and before that, it had won a Group 1 in France.

“So that pulled me up a bit. But it will be interesting anyway.”

Another unknown factor will be the potential rain-affected conditions in Queensland, though Busuttin believes Immediacy can handle them despite a preference for firmer footing.

“Because of his breeding, you’d assume he’d enjoy a wet track, but all of his wins have been on top of the ground.

“I don’t think it’ll worry him, but again, we’ll find out.

“At the moment he is a Group 3 horse and hopefully he can get to Group 2 level. We will steer away from those top horses and if he goes well, we might look at the G2 Q22 on Stradbroke Day.”

Outside of Sir Delius and Immediacy who head the market, the Chairman’s shapes as a competitive contest. Chris Waller’s Caboche (NZ) (Vadamos {Fr}) looks to be nearing peak condition and looms as a threat, while stablemate Manzoice (Almanzor {Fr}) a former G1 VRC Derby winner, returned to form with a fast-finishing second at Eagle Farm last start in lower grade and warrants respect on class alone.

Can Laurie’s dream Sydney autumn stretch a little longer?

Trainer Matt Laurie has enjoyed a dream autumn carnival in New South Wales, headlined by a trio of Group 1 victories that firmly established his growing reputation on the national stage. It began with Treasurethe Moment (Alabama Express), who captured both the G1 Vinery Stud Stakes and G1 Australian Oaks, and was followed by Vinrock’s (I Am Invincible) dominant win in the G1 ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes, a performance that helped lock in a lucrative stallion deal with Yu Long Stud. Adding to the stable's momentum, Miss Icelandic (Deep Field) has also chipped in with a lucrative metropolitan win with her first start in Sydney.

This Saturday, Laurie is looking to extend that golden run with two runners at the Scone stand-alone meeting: the consistent Miss Icelandic and the unbeaten filly Soft Love (Pierata).

Miss Icelandic has been dually accepted for the $200,000 Listed Ortensia Stakes and a Benchmark 78 Handicap event. After initially missing the cut for the stakes race, she has now gained a spot in the final field and has drawn well in both events. Earlier in the week Laurie remained open-minded about which race she'll contest.

“She’ll probably get a similar run to the one she won at Randwick,’’ he told Racing NSW.

“She did a good job there so hopefully there’s more in store.

“We’re hoping to snag a bit of black type. She’s won a few in town, but the prizemoney is so good there anyway, at the end of the day if she’s better off in the benchmark race, then that’s where we’ll go.”

While Miss Icelandic brings proven credentials to Scone, much of the intrigue centres on Soft Love, the unbeaten daughter of Pierata who is stepping out in stakes company for the first time in the Listed Denise’s Joy Stakes.

Owned by Yu Long Investments, Soft Love has made a faultless start to her career, winning all three of her races. She resumed this preparation with a strong win at Bendigo, before delivering a stylish and dominant victory at Caulfield on April 5.

“We placed her moderately at the start of this prep and she won really well. When you think they are city class, you’ve got to throw them in and see how they go,’’ Laurie said.

“She’s a nice filly, unbeaten, and she scored a very stylish win at Caulfield. She won with authority, so she’s on the way up.

“We’re just trying to chase some black type. If she can get the job done in something like this, we can take her up to Queensland.”

Laurie gave the filly a right-handed trial at Rosehill on May 9 to familiarise her with the Sydney way of going. She finished sixth in a quiet hit-out, but it served its purpose.

“We brought her up to get some experience in that direction and we found this race,” Laurie said.

Soft Love has drawn the inside barrier, which could play either way depending on how the race unfolds. Laurie noted that while she can take time to find her rhythm early, her strength lies in her acceleration once balanced.

“She probably likes to find her feet a little bit. There’ll be speedier horses there early on in the race in comparison to her, but she’s good enough to take a split.

“She has good pick-up speed, so if it is there, she will be able to take it.”

With Miss Icelandic looking to snare valuable black type and Soft Love aiming to keep her unbeaten record intact while picking up her first black type, Laurie has two live chances to keep his extended autumn hot streak alive as the Sydney carnival rolls into Scone – and perhaps beyond into Queensland.

Towering Vision to thrive over the mile - a Guineas and Derby contender in the making?

Ellerslie’s juvenile feature this Saturday presents a new challenge for the 2-year-olds, as they stretch out to 1600 metres in the Listed Champagne Stakes, a genuine test of durability and staying potential that could shape the early contenders for next season’s Guineas and Derby races.

For some, their pedigrees offer clear clues that more ground will suit, while for others, physical maturity and racing style may hold the answers. One such runner is the aptly named Towering Vision (NZ) (Circus Maximus {Ire}), a big, scopey gelding who has already delivered on early promise and will aim to double his stakes tally before heading for a winter break.

The Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson-trained runner became the first stakes winner for his sire Circus Maximus (Ire) when taking out the Listed Waikato Veterinary Centre Stakes over 1400 metres at Te Rapa earlier this month. Bergerson said they went into the race quietly confident but were pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

“We were quietly confident that he’d run well, we didn’t expect him to win, but it didn’t come too much as a surprise,” Bergerson told Loveracing.nz.

“His run at Matamata was really good, he just didn’t have a lot of luck but hit the line well so we were confident going up to 1400m. He had a really nice draw on the day and Gryllsy (Craig Grylls) gave him a super ride, so it was really pleasing to see him get the job done.”

In-form rider Craig Grylls retains the mount on Saturday and will again partner Towering Vision against several familiar rivals from the Te Rapa race, including the third, fourth and sixth placegetters. Bergerson believes the gelding can run another bold race.

“He looks like a really nice chance again on Saturday, he’s met quite a few of these horses before,” he said. “It’s a smaller field so it may be quite tactical, it’ll be an interesting race.

“He is doing really well in the stable, he did a nice piece of work on Wednesday with Altari and we were really happy with him.

One of the biggest threats to Towering Vision is likely to be Toretto (NZ) (Ardrossan), who charged into third at Te Rapa and gives the strong impression he’ll relish the mile. His sire has already produced a promising stayer in Beau Dazzler (NZ), a live Queensland Derby hope, and Toretto’s trainer Hollie Wynyard believes the gelding is now finding his confidence.

“He’ll go for a break after Saturday and we’ll look forward to his 3-year-old season. We had thought he would’ve been more of a 3-year-old, so what he’s doing now is a really nice bonus.”

“It was a really good run, it was nice to see him back with a bit of confidence and attacking the line because he’s obviously shown a bit of ability,” Wynyard told Loveracing.nz.

“He’s always a horse that gets back a little bit so to see him get home as strongly as he did, that fills us with a lot of confidence that he will run out the mile.”

Wynyard also saddles Wyndstorm (NZ) (Wyndspelle {NZ}), who finished a creditable fourth at Te Rapa and is still developing with each run.

“He was good too, it was only his third start and he’s still the big baby of the group,” she said. “He’s still learning – when he gets in behind horses he’s still doing a couple of things wrong.

“I think he’s a horse that will be better jumping out and putting himself there, but he drew 14 at Te Rapa so we had to go back and he had to make his run in between horses. He’s going to take a lot from that.

“In a smaller field and with the gate speed he’s got, I think he’ll be a bit handier on Saturday, which should suit him more.”

Saturday’s Champagne Stakes might only be a Listed event on paper at the back end of the Autumn, but it could very well offer a glimpse of some genuine classic prospects in the making.