Chris Wallerâs ace mare Winx has opened odds-on favourite as the dominant final acceptor for Saturdayâs Chipping Norton Stakes 2016 field at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney.
Winx is odds-on favourite to win her fourth Group 1 race in Saturday’s 2016 Chipping Norton Stakes at Randwick. Photo: Steve Hart.
The three-time Group 1 winning Street Cry four-year-old is best known for her Cox Plate success in the spring, which she bounced back from first-up on February 13 to win the Group 2 Apollo Stakes (1400m).
She is now won of 12 hopefuls in the mix for the $600,000 Group 1 Precise Air Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) this weekend, the weight-for-age classic due to run as Randwick Race 7 at 4:25pm (local).
Drawn in gate eight with Hugh Bowman retaining the ride, Winx is out to become the first mare to beat home the boys in the Chipping Norton Stakes results since Tuesday Joy (2009).
Waller has won four of the past five editions of the race with wins from 2011 â 2014 and Winx sits top of the Chipping Norton Stakes odds through Ladbrokes.com.au at a short $1.45 to hand him a fifth success.
The master Sydney horseman has also accepted for four of Winxâs stablemates in this autumnâs Chipping Norton Stakes field.
His next best fancied but still at an outside price is European import Storm The Stars ($19) in the four-year-oldâs Australian debut.
Wallerâs Chipping Norton Stakes contingent is rounded out by Turnbull Stakes winning Zabeel stallion Preferment ($41), reigning Sydney Cup winner Grand Marshal ($81) and Melbourne Cup placegetter from 2014 Who Shot Thebarman ($81).
Along with Winx the only other runner under double figures in the latest Chipping Norton Stakes odds paying $5.50 is Hartnell who jumps one on the favouriteâs inside from barrier seven.
Last yearâs winning jockey James McDonald partners the John OâShea-trained Authorized gelding who is out to emulate stablemate Contributer who took out the race 12 months ago.
While Contributer came off an Apollo Stakes win, Hartnell is first-up on the weekend racing for the first time since his 15th in the Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) last November.
He hasnât won a race since last yearâs Group 1 The BMW (2400m) at Rosehill in March, but is tipped to enjoy his return to Sydney and perform well fresh.
OâShea has a total of three runners in the race on Saturday with Hartnell joined by The Metropolitan winner at the track last spring Magic Hurricane ($26) out in barrier 11 for William Buick to ride and Hauraki ($13).
Sam Clipperton rides Reset four-year-old Hauraki from barrier 10 on Saturday, the gelding coming off a brave first-up third to Winx in the Apollo Stakes as a $31 roughie.
Other notable hopes include Mongolian Khan ($10) and the rails-drawn Dibayani ($15).
Murray Baker prepares New Zealand raider Mongolian Khan, the four-year-old last seen winning the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) over the mile and a half in Melbourne last October.
He also won in Group 1 company in Sydney as a three-year-old last April taking out the Group 1 ATC Derby (2400m) at his only previous Randwick run.
Dibayani meanwhile represents David Hayes & Tom Dabernig and ran a solid fourth in the Apollo first-up that heâs out to improve on here from the inside alley after jumping from 11 of 11 last time out.
See below for the full Chipping Norton Stakes 2016 field, barriers, jockeys and weights plus Fixed Win odds provided by Ladbrokes.com.au â home of the $500 first time depositorsâ bonus with use of the code BETBONUS!