The highlight of Saturday’s racing in Australia is the Group 2 Warwick Stakes at Royal Randwick.
Eight Group 1 winners are included in the field of ten for the $175,000 prize but the horse that interests me most is not one of them. Weary began life with Harry Dunlop in the UK and produced a 40-1 surprise on his debut at Newbury in 2012 under Hayley Turner. France was his next port of call where he showed that he could handle heavy ground by accounting for Kamran over seven furlongs.
He met with defeat for the first time against Zenji in similar conditions at Longchamp in a Listed race. Dunlop brought him back across the water to contest the Racing Post Trophy but he finished down the field behind Kingsbarns. As a four-year-old, he finished second to Olympic Glory and fourth to Baltic Knight achieving a rating of 110.
He ran possibly his best race when fourth to the brilliant Moonlight Cloud over seven furlongs at Longchamp in July 2013. This is a real gem for racing “anoraks”: He actually ran under the name Sir Patrick Moore before he was bought to race in Australia and renamed after a famous Australian army figure called Weary Dunlop. He was cleverly named, being by Astronomer Royal out of America Nova.
Weary has finished first and second at Rosehill and has also run well on all three previous visits to Randwick. His close fifth in the Group 2 Missile Stakes was his first run since April and he is entitled to improve significantly on Saturday. He has a little bit of ground to make up on Messene but that horse is not certain to enjoy the ground. The latest reports suggest that it may be barely fit for racing by the weekend if the deluge keeps up.
The going has already led to Boban being withdrawn by Chris Waller, the trainer of Weary. He also runs another leading candidate in Doncaster Mile winner Sacred Falls who has good form in heavy ground but the trainer has hinted that it may be too much to expect him to win first time up.
David Payne’s Australian Derby winner Criterion is reported in good shape for his first real test in all-aged company. Tiger Trees has a reputation for being something of a mud lark but his barrier ten draw has put me off him a little. Australian punters betting on the race with Ladbrokes can get their money refunded as a free bet if their selection finishes second in the Warwick Stakes up to a maximum of $50.
Weary @5.50 Ladbrokes, SP Paddy Power
