The Follow Files: All about the girls at Caulfield & Randwick

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HorseBetting blackbook tips

Given Doomben was abandoned, there were just two feature meetings – Randwick and Caulfield – in Australia on Saturday. A mammoth five Group 1 races were run and won across the two tracks, and they seriously delivered the goods. Now, the team at The Follow Files go back over the two meetings in a bid to find a few horses to add into your blackbook.

Royal Randwick | Track: Heavy 10 | Rail: True

Race 3: Group 2 Sweet Embrace Stakes (1200m) | Time: 1:15.18

  • Horse to follow: She’s Extreme (2nd)

SHE’S EXTREME went into the Sweet Embrace Stakes off just the one career start, which came on February 16 in a midweek race where she didn’t have much luck. After getting a long way out of her ground on Saturday, the daughter of Extreme Choice really knuckled down to the task late, running three-quarters of a length behind Fireburn, who has now won three in a row. What we liked most about She’s Extreme’s run was the fact that she went straight past Lady Laguna, who was previously a four-length winner on heavy going.

When to bet: This filly is still a maiden, so it will be interesting to see what connections do with her, but we are happy to bet wherever she goes next. Whether or not they go back to maiden company with her remains to be seen; perhaps they could have one last crack at a Golden Slipper place by contesting the Magic Night Stakes on March 12 at Rosehill Gardens?

Race 7: Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) | Time: 1:39.64

  • Horse to follow: Duais (6th)

The first Group 1 race of the 2022 calendar year in Sydney was the Chipping Norton Stakes, and it was won by none other than Verry Elleegant. She’s Ideel caught the eye fresh to run second, suggesting that she will be in for a big autumn as she heads towards the Sydney Cup, but we were most impressed by what DUAIS did for Edward Cummings. The four-year-old mare was bottled up on the inside of runners in the home straight and looked to be full of running, so Josh Parr opted to bring her to the outside of horses, causing her to lose all momentum, but she really let down strongly to get within a length-and-three-quarters. She has never placed on heavy tracks, so that run was very pleasing given it was bottomless at Randwick on Saturday.

When to bet: Cummings has confirmed that his talented mare will head to Melbourne for the Group 1 Australian Cup (2000m) on March 12, where she looks very hard to beat, especially if she gets a good track on the day. At around $7 in the early markets, we can suggest a futures bet on her.

Caulfield | Track: Good 4 (Good 3 after R6) | Rail: +3m Entire Course

Race 4: Group 2 Angus Armanasco Stakes (1400m) | Time: 1:23.22

  • Horse to follow: Yearning (3rd)

There isn’t much hiding that a Group 1 winner can do, especially in their first-up run, but we were very pleased with what YEARNING did on Saturday over 1400m in the Angus Armanasco Stakes. The daughter of Snitzel had to come wide, which just wasn’t the place to be on Saturday at Caulfield, but she still hit the line strongly to run third, finishing 2.5 lengths away from Lavish Girl and Argentia. The Hawkes-trained filly won the Group 1 Thousand Guineas over the mile in the spring, so she is going to get better as she gets over a bit further, but it was a very nice return from a classy three-year-old.

When to bet: We would be surprised to see this filly stay in Melbourne for much longer, with races like the Coolmore Classic, Vinery Stud Stakes and ATC Oaks all potential targets for her. She has handled rain-affected going in the past, so if it stays wet in Sydney, it shouldn’t be an issue.

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