Check out all the highlights and lowlights from a massive Saturday of racing, highlighted by the All Aged and Champagne Stakes at Randwick, plus the $5m Quokka at Ascot in Perth.
Tony and Calvin McEvoy will take an arsenal of fit and firing horses to the upcoming Adelaide carnival after snaring all three of the new features at Oakbank on Easter Saturday.
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Fresh from a Group 1 in his home state last weekend, Phillip Stokes again heads to Morphettville with a strong hand for one of the feature races.
Without a runner in the G1 South Australian Derby or G3 Sires Produce, the now Pakenham-based trainer will take two live chances into the Listed Adelaide Guineas in the form of fillies Way To Go Paula and Highly Discreet.
In her two runs this preparation, Way To Go Paula has a Benchmark 64 win at Pakenham and a second placing when she was beaten under half a length in the Listed Nitschke Stakes a fortnight ago at Morphettville.
South Australia will command a fair slice of racing’s national spotlight when the prestigious Adelaide Racing Carnival (May 1-15) kicks off this Saturday with two Group 1 races.
The TAB Classic for fillies and mares over 1200m (Robert Sangster Stakes) and Australasian Oaks for three-year-old fillies, both worth $502,250, have attracted strong nominations from local and interstate stables.
Among the likely Oaks’ runners is the Scott Brunton-trained rising star Hela, unbeaten from its seven starts, since debuting in October last year Hela has won all races in Tasmania, most recently winning a handicap over 1600m on April 14.
The daughter of Night of Thunder faces a big step up in class if she takes her place in the field but trainer Brunton said after Hela’s recent win it was all systems go. “She did what I expected her to do (last Sunday) and now we have to keep her ticking over and hope we can get her to South Australia safe and sound,’’ he said.