2016 Randwick Racing: All Aged Stakes Betting Tips

2016 All Aged Stakes – Group 1

The 2016 Schweppes All Aged Stakes is one of two Group 1 races at Royal Randwick this Saturday following the conclusion of The Championships last week.

While the Moet & Chandon Champagne Stakes will draw some interest, the quality of each Group 1 cannot be compared, with the strength of the All Aged Stakes far superior to that of the Champagne, which looks to be one of the weakest Group 1 races for some time.

Despite the low entries for the All Aged Stakes, it is packed full of quality and the weight-for-age conditions of the race adds extra interest.

The Randwick track remains in the Soft range as it has been for the past couple of meetings. There is a small chance of some showers on Saturday but probably not enough rain to greatly affect the track. The rail will be out 9m for the entirety of this race so there is a fair chance that the rail won’t be as disadvantageous as it can sometimes be when it rains at Randwick.

The pace looks fairly moderate and it’s very likely that Malaguerra will find the lead from barrier 2. I’d expect Press Statement to roll forward and take up a position in the first four, along with maybe Perignon who sports the blinkers once again. Rebel Dane may make use of barrier 1 to sit in the first four, while I’ expect Goldstream to go back on his Australian debut. Black Heart Bart will be midfield, English could find herself at the rear once again along with Kermadec.

I think there are five horses that you can make a genuine case for as winning hopes: Keramdec, Black Heart Bart, Malaguerra, Press Statement and English.

Waller could very well land the quinella here. Kermadec was uncharacteristically poor in the Doncaster but pulled up with back problems and a slow recovery. If you go back to his run behind Winx two starts ago, where he flashed along the rail and beat everything else pretty comfortably, he looks very hard to beat here. He finished 1.8L ahead of stablemate Press Statement in that race, and there’s every chance of him bouncing back here.

Press Statement, unlike Kermadec, skipped the Doncaster and comes into this relatively fresh which could make the difference. His run behind Winx and Kermadec was admirable in the George Ryder, and he drops back to 1400m here which is his best distance in my opinion. He gets in with 56.5kg here under WFA conditions and the extra week or two off may be the thing that swings this in his favour.

The new kid on the block is Malaguerra, whose two wins this preparation have both been outstanding. This is a big step up from anything he’s faced, however, and he has to carry 59kg. I do think he’s absolutely flying and could be better suited during the Brisbane winter, but there’s no knocking his winning form coming into this and he’s still yet to deliver his best. At the odds I’m looking elsewhere but I still expect him to run a big race.

I think that’s your first three across the line, but the others to consider are English and Black Heart Bart. English ran super in the TJ Smith – in fact all three of her runs this prep have been outstanding. With only 54.5kg she is certainly well in, but my concern with her is the 1400m. Her only start over 1400m resulted in her failing as favourite, and I just think she may be better suited over the shorter sprint trips.

The 1400m won’t trouble Black Heart Bart, though! The former WA horse has a super record at the trip and recorded a great win in the Group 3 Victoria Handicap over the distance last start. I think he’s good enough to be very competitive here but he will not like a Soft track. I don’t think the track will be terribly soft but I feel he’s probably looking for a firm track to produce his best. Interesting one to keep an eye on, though.

I think the winner will be one of Chris Waller’s pair. If Kermadec can reproduce his performance from two starts ago I think he will win this. He had the measure of Press Statement that day, but if he’s not at his best then Waller’s three-year-old could land the spoils.

1st KERMADEC
2nd PRESS STATEMENT
3rd MALAGUERRA
4th BLACK HEART BART

There is really only five horses out of the eight engaged that are worth taking a look at, with Rebel Dane, Perignon and Goldstream unlikely to feature in the finish.

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