New Zealand filly Prowess is the heavily-backed favourite to beat home the locals in Sydney’s Group 1 $600,000 Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m) this weekend at Rosehill Gardens.
Last year’s Golden Slipper winning filly Fireburn is out to return to her better form in the 2023 Vinery Stud Stakes on Saturday. Photo: Steve Hart.
The key support race on the Tancred Stakes Day card, the Vinery Stud Stakes field features a quality line-up of Australian Oaks-bound fillies.
Heading the field and betting markets at $2.20 and firming through Ladbrokes is the Roger James & Robert Wellwood-trained Prowess with the ace middle-distance filly from the land of the long white could chasing her fifth consecutive win.
Mark Zahra rides the talented three-year-old from a favourable barrier four draw on the weekend with the bonny bay last seen winning the Group 1 Bonecrusher Stakes (2050m) across the Tasman a fortnight back.
She is fit and ready to fire again over the 2000m in the Vinery where she comes back against her own age having defeated her older rivals at Pukekohe.
Only two of her Aussie rivals join in her the markets under $10 with the danger at current Vinery Stud Stakes odds of $3.20 being the Richard & Will Freedman-trained Pavitra.
Chad Schofield partners the progressive daughter of American Pharoah from gate nine this weekend with the filly coming off a second-up romp home by four-lengths in the Group 3 Kembla Grange Classic (1600m).
She looks to be crying out for a trip now and will relish the 2000m having placed a length back second in last year’s Group 1 VRC Oaks (2500m) in Melbourne.
“To prove she is a top-level filly, she probably needed to do that (last start) because we’ve known about Prowess for the entirety of the autumn, we’ve seen what she’s been able to do,” co-trainer Will Freedman told Just Horse Racing this week.
“New Zealand form can sometimes not be the strongest form-line over here, but she is beating older horses at 2000 metres so she’s obviously got her fair share of talent.
“We’re going to have to be at our best. But so is Prowess.
“If Prowess is off her game, she’s going to have a handful in Pavitra because she’s definitely got the talent.”
The other single-figure fancy getting up over a mile for the first time in a notable rise in distance is Gary Portelli’s former top-line two-year-old Fireburn ($8.50).
The now three-year-old daughter of Rebel Dane won the Group 1 Golden Slipper – Group 1 Inglis Sires’ last autumn during her stellar juvenile campaign.
She has been somewhat flat this campaign, but showed glimpses of her better form third-up last time out at Rosehill when fourth to Zougotcha in the Group 2 Phar Lap Stakes (1500m).
For value punters may be drawn to the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained Soul Choice who is now into $12 on the back of her successive Tasmanian wins in the Strutt Stakes and Oaks.
The Vinery is set to jump at 4:00pm (AEDT) as the seventh race on the bumper 10-race Rosehill card on Saturday.
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