| What | Alister Clark Stakes |
| Where | Moonee Valley |
| When | Saturday, March 13, 2021 | 2.35pm AEST | Race 5 |
| Prizemoney | $200,000 |
| Distance | 2040m |
| Status | Group 2 |
| Race Conditions | Set weights |
| Watch Live | |
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Streaming Live at Sportsbet |
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The Group 2 Alister Clark Stakes is one of the featured events on the Moonee Valley nine race card on Saturday at 2.35pm. A field of nine three-year-olds will meet under set weight conditions with $120,000 of the $200,000 on offer going to the winner of the race. Over the past three years, the race has been kind to favourite punters, including last year when Nonconformist took it out.
In the small field of nine, expect the likes of Comanche Brave, Grandslam and Prince Romany to be the ones dictating terms, with Young Werther and Cherry Tortoni expected to be at the rear of the field.
Happy to take on this year’s favourite and go with the winner of the Autumn Classic, the filly Parure from the Dabernig & Hayes stable. Considering Parure was doing her best work over the concluding stages in her last victory, you would expect the extra 200m she gets here in the Alister Clark Stakes to suit her perfectly. From the wide barrier, expect jockey Damian Lane to head forward on the filly and try to find a prominent position. If afforded that luck the track at The Valley should help. Being the only filly in this race the 2kg weight swing she has to her advantage over the boy’s may prove pivotal over the concluding stages with a touch of class on her side.
Having won the Moonee Valley Vase over this track and distance in the spring, Cherry Tortoni on talent alone has his name in the first three. His run in the Australian Guineas was remarkable and with the rain forecast his record on rain affected tracks has him in this up to his neck. Four wins and a runner up finish in five starts on Soft going, suggests he will be the one to beat in the Alister Clark Stakes. Having drawn barrier four, he will naturally settle towards the rear of the field, and if Billy Egan has the Patrick Payne-trained gelding within a couple of lengths at the turn he could prove hard to hold out.
With the Tasmanian Derby winner, Explosive Jack coming to Melbourne for the first time, the $17 on offer looks to be a touch over the odds, considering how easily he rounded up his rivals. Grandslam and Beltoro both have claims in this year’s Alister Clark Stakes.
Alister Clark Stakes betting strategy
| $100 betting strategy | |
|---|---|
| $70 Win Parure | Parure |
| Boxed Trifecta | 1,3,4,5,9 |
