Anamoe might be the raging favourite for Saturday’s Winx Stakes (1400m) at Royal Randwick, but his trainer admits it is a “challenge” for his star four-year-old.
Already with $4.8 million in prizemoney to his name, it is little wonder the son of Street Boss is expected to take out the first Group 1 of the new racing season.
He is set to jump from the inside barrier on Saturday under his regular rider, James McDonald, as they search for the horse’s fourth Group 1 victory.
READ: 2022 Winx Stakes tips & betting strategy
Anamoe has won at the highest level between 1400m and 2000m – all of which have been against his own age, with a narrow second in the 2021 Cox Plate (2040m) his best finish against older horses – so his trainer is hoping to see him take it to another level this spring.
“I think he’s been a bit more measured than he has been in the past,” James Cummings said in Godolphin’s weekly update.
“We’ve been strategically prepared to make sure his grounding has been solid and, from what I’ve seen so far, we’ve got to be quite pleased with the result we’ve got.
“It’s a challenge this weekend, but it gives him the opportunity to prove himself in the Winx Stakes.”
Cummings will also saddle up the favourite in the Group 2 Silver Shadow Stakes at Randwick later in the afternoon.
In Secret went through her first racing campaign unbeaten, winning her two starts including the Listed Woodlands Stakes at Scone on May 14.
The three-year-old filly by I Am Invincible is out of the multiple Group 3-winning mare Eloping, who also won her first two races in the summer of 2013 and 2014.
READ: Randwick betting preview & quaddie selections
In Secret is the $3.40 favourite with online bookmakers for her first-up assignment, while she is touted as a leading chance in two Group 1 races exclusive to three-year-old fillies over 1600m later in the spring – the Flight Stakes and Thousand Guineas.
Cummings says she has come on from her first preparation in terrific fashion, so he is looking forward to seeing her back at the races.
“She’s trained on beautifully, she’s an exciting filly,” he said.
“She’s been flying along in her gallops, so we’ll find out what kind of a transition she’s going to make now that she’s hitting the racetrack first-up as a three-year-old filly.
“We appreciate she’s bred to be fast but we’ve stretched out other brilliant fillies to a mile before.
“The Flight Stakes and the Thousand Guineas are going to be her races but, if we feel it’s too much of a stretch, we can take stock and re-evaluate that because that whole landscape could change.
“We want to keep an open mind with her.”
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