Red Anchor Stakes attracts competitive field

Maharba will line-up in the Group 3 Red Anchor Stakes (Photo by Pat Scala/Racing Photos)

A competitive field of 11 colts and geldings will line up in the Group 3 Red Anchor Stakes (1200m) on Saturday afternoon at Moonee Valley.

Horse racing betting sites found it difficult to find an outright favourite but opted to open the Grahame Begg-trained Maharba as a +320 market elect.

The three-year-old gelding was a smart track-and-trip winner on September 29, getting the better of subsequent Caulfield winner Brave Mead.

A Listed winner at two, Maharba will be looking to add Group 3 success to his record for the first time and go one better than his runner-up effort in the Group 3 Pago Pago Stakes (1200m) earlier this year.

Michael Dee will once again team up with the Pride Of Dubai gelding, who will jump from barrier seven on Saturday.

Having chased home the likes of Ozzmosis and King’s Gambit in both runs of this campaign up in Sydney, the James Cummings-trained Barber will return to Melbourne in Saturday’s $200,000 event.

The Exceed And Excel colt has not been seen in Melbourne since finishing ninth in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m).

A winner of the Group 3 Blue Diamond Prelude (1100m), this will be Barber’s third start at this level, but he will need to overcome an awful record at 1200m (3: 0-0-0).

Schwarz and Le Parrain both bolted in on their debut at Gosford on October 5 and have been thrown into the deep end by their trainers at just their second starts.

The Red Anchor Stakes is the final race at Moonee Valley on Saturday, bringing a close to the 2023 Cox Plate Carnival.


Red Anchor Stakes 2023 final field

No. Silks Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight
1 Silks
Barber
James Cummings
Damian Lane
8
58.5kg
2 Silks
Maharba
Grahame Begg
Michael Dee
7
58kg
3 Silks
Archo Nacho
Matt Laurie
Mark Zahra
2
58kg
4 Silks
Critique
Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott
Zac Lloyd
5
57kg
5 Silks
Snippety Legend
Lloyd Kennewell & Lucy Yeomans
Zac Purton
11
57kg
6 Silks
Loose On Gin
Matthew Williams
Dean Yendall
4
57kg
7 Silks
Le Parrain
Ciaron Maher & David Eustace
TBC
6
57kg
8 Silks
Lordster
Clinton McDonald
Beau Mertens
3
57kg
9 Silks
Don’t Hope Do
Simon Zahra
Blaike McDougall
10
57kg
10 Silks
Schwarz
John O’Shea
James McDonald
1
57kg
11 Silks
Revalene
Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young
Blake Shinn
9
57kg

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