The race towards the autumn carnival is already heating up with a Doncaster Mile ballot exemption up for grabs in the recently boosted Group 2 $2 million The Ingham (1600m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday.
Nugget heads early markets on the $2 million The Ingham Stakes in Sydney this weekend. Photo: Steve Hart.
Formerly known as the Villiers Stakes, the 2022 The Ingham Stakes prize money is set at an unprecedented $2 million with the winner exempt from ballot for the Group 1 $3 million Doncaster Mile (1600m) held back at the track and distance next April.
The Ingham field features a capacity line-up of hopefuls with the latest markets at Ladbrokes led by the Ciaron Maher & David Eustace-trained second emergency Nugget at $3.20.
The money continues to come for the in-form import who was last seen carrying a hefty 60kg to a dominant 2.3 length win over the mile at Kembla Grange on November 19.
He would drop six kilos to 54kg in the Ingham Stakes, but is in big danger of missing out on a run needing two scratchings to make the starting line-up on Saturday.
The danger who will start favourite in The Ingham should Nugget miss out on a run is the resuming Peter & Paul Snowden-trained Group 1 Doomben Cup winner from the winter, Huetor ($7).
Huetor is allocated the equal 59kg top-weight in the event with Kerrin McEvoy to ride from a better than mid-field draw, but the French-bred six-year-old has only a fair first-up record.
There is then a number of other contenders the bookies are having a hard time separating in the markets with the defending champion Brutality ($9) winless since his Villiers Stakes success last summer, Chris Waller’s consistent Savabeel mare Atishu ($9.50) coming off a second in the Ballarat Cup, the John O’Shea-trained market mover Diamil ($9.50) heavily backed from an opening quote of $21 and the widely-drawn Dajraan ($9.50) coming off a Group 3 Festival Stakes success the next best fancied.
The Joe Pride-trained Shamus Award six-year-old Brutality is out to make history as the first back-to-back winner of the event, and his trainer is quietly confident heading into the now very lucrative showdown.
“He is clearly going at a career-best level, it’s just unfortunate he hasn’t really had his opportunity yet,” Pride told RS NewsWire this week.
“His runs have been great and it would be amazing to go back-to-back in the Villiers, or now The Ingham.
“The sectionals he has been running have been outstanding.
“He is definitely going better than ever and he looks better than he has ever looked.”
The price on last start $1 million The Gong winner Riodini meanwhile is easing with the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained galloper out from $8 to $10 to win his second on the trot.
The 2022 The Ingham is set to run as Race 8 at 4:40pm (AEDT) on Saturday’s big 10-race Randwick card.
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