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Rachel King’s expertise will again be tested on Ozzmosis, a hot favourite, at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.
Flemington’s group 1 Turnbull Stakes may hold pride of place on Saturday as it features Hong Kong champion Romantic Warrior, but King’s performance piloting Just Fine to victory in last Saturday’s The Metropolitan bodes well for another top performance in what promises to be a demanding group 2 Roman Consul Stakes.
Rachel King rides Ozzmosis to victory in the Heritage Stakes at Rosehill on September 23.Credit: Getty
King did everything right to get Just Fine home in course-record time in a gruelling 2400-metre finish, and that could be required on Ozzmosis in the Roman Consul, although over 1200 metres.
Unbeaten at his only three starts, Ozzmosis takes on a field limited in numbers but riddled with potential and speed to burn.
From the Bjorn Baker stable, Ozzmosis looked burly when he accounted for Saturday’s rivals Barber, Celestial Legend, Namesake and Royal Tribute in an 1100 metre Rosehill dash on September 23.
Barber, too, was above himself in condition and while Celestial Legend looked trim, being by Dundeel, he will benefit from the slightly longer distance at Rosehill.
They will also need to contend with King’s Gambit, who rates highest in the set weight event. This colt goes fast and will be seasoned by his recent third when resuming at Flemington.
Also the Gai Waterhouse-Adrian Bott combination, so good at Randwick last Saturday, will likely be on show with Royal Tribute. With Tim Clark aboard, there will be no easy sections.
With Nash Rawiller on Barber, Tom Berry (King’s Gambit) back after a break and firing on all cylinders, and Kerrin McEvoy waiting for the last burst on Celestial Legend, when the whips are out, touch, perfect positioning, and guile mixed with strength is going to be needed.
James McDonald, longtime Sydney hotshot, is down south applying expertise to Romantic Warrior, who drew barrier 10 in the Turnbull, normally a query but no problem in the opinion of Greg Carpenter. Carpenter is an expert on Melbourne, formerly being the longtime Racing Victoria top handicapper, and is now ensconced as the Hong Kong Jockey Club head of product.
James McDonald takes Romantic Warrior for a gallop at Flemington last week.Credit: Getty
Carpenter detailed the many inconveniences facing Romantic Warrior on the podcast Hoof On The Till, including quarantine in Hong Kong and Werribee, and missing his specially imported feed from the United States.
According to Carpenter, Romantic Warrior has the tactical pace to slot over to a handy near position close to the rail for McDonald, who has ridden the gelding before in Hong Kong.
While Carpenter has a healthy respect in the Turnbull for the Chris Waller’s Caulfield and Melbourne Cup hopes – Francesco Guardi, Osipenko, and Soulcombe – at this stage they are not proven elite weight-for-age performers. Romantic Warrior is.
Still Carpenter stressed the gelding will be better for its main target of this campaign, the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley, adding up to whether punters want to take the $2.10 odds on offer at the moment. I don’t.
Romantic Warrior shows the affluence of Hong Kong having earned $14,872,140 to date from 10 wins out of 14 starts, while New Zealand’s outstanding sprinting mare, Imperatriz, from 15 triumphs at 23 attempts has accumulated only $2,354,974.
Following her Moir Stakes success at Moonee Valley last Friday night, Imperatriz should be regarded as Australasia’s top sprinter. Dan O’Sullivan, a top rating expert, listed her Moir win on Racing.com as the best in the group 1 event since 2016 and superior to Think About It’s triumph at Randwick on last Saturday.
Imperatriz is bypassing The Everest in the best interest of the mare rather than prizemoney, more comfortable in Melbourne chasing group 1 labels that the $20 million Randwick extravaganza sadly lacks.
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