| What | Black Opal Stakes Day |
| Where | Thoroughbred Park – 1 Randwick Rd, Lyneham ACT 2602 |
| When | Sunday, March 12, 2023 |
| First Race | 1:05pm AEDT |
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Visit Ladbrokes |
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Racing heads to Canberra on Sunday afternoon for a competitive nine-race program headlined by the $200,000 Black Opal Stakes – the final chance for the two-year-olds to gain entry into next Saturday’s Group 1 Golden Slipper. We’ve also got the Listed National Sprint over 1400m with $150,000 in prizemoney up for grabs. The track is currently listed as a Soft 5, although we do have some drying days ahead with some scattered showers forecast on Sunday afternoon. The rail is out +3 the entire circuit and the opening race is set to get us underway at 1:05pm AEDT.
Black Opal Stakes Tip: Autumn Ballet
We find it impossible to be against Autumn Ballet in the Black Opal on Sunday afternoon. This filly out of the Waterhouse & Bott camp has had two barrier trials that have suggested she could be much too good for the field assembled in this Group 3 two-year-old feature. In her latest jump-out at Rosehill on February 27 she left her trial company chasing her home a long way out. She went on to win the trial by a staggering 7.8 lengths on the winning post and, under minimal riding from Tim Clark, never looked like stopping. It’s always tricky to line up a two-year-old that hasn’t been to the races; however, we’ve got to take the risk that the camp has been saving this daughter of The Autumn Sun for a race like this. Autumn Ballet won’t get an easy time of things on speed if Clark elects to lead, but she oozes class on her trials and breeding, meaning we simply must be with her on Sunday.
Black Opal Stakes
Race 8 – 
#14 Autumn Ballet (7)
2yo Filly | T: Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | J: Tim Clark (54kg)
$2.80 with Unibet
National Sprint Tip: Vreneli
We’ve landed with Vreneli in the second of the features at Canberra on Sunday afternoon, as this son of Wandjina only knows one way. He’s the natural leader in this race with the only other likely speed coming from Narrated, who is first-up on Sunday. We’ve got fitness on our side, plus Vreneli comes out of a hot form race behind Think About It on February 11. A stack of runners coming out of that race are heading to the Group 2 Ajax Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday, including the favourite for that event, Waterford, who will give us a good guide on how strong the form is moving forward. Vreneli drops 5.5kg for that effort, and with a lovely tick-over trial between runs, we think he can go forward and pinch this race from his opposition. This looks like perfect placement from the Waterhouse & Bott team, and we feel career win number seven can be chalked up here.
National Sprint
Race 7 – 
#3 Vreneli (5)
5yo Gelding | T: Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | J: Regan Bayliss (56kg)
$4 with PlayUp
Best Bet at Canberra: Yarrawonga
We have to wait until the final race at Canberra on Sunday for our best bet for the afternoon, and we’ve gone for an intriguing runner by the name of Yarrawonga. He’s a lightly raced five-year-old recently acquired by the Waterhouse & Bott partnership, this coming after one disappointing Australian start for the Robert Hickmott yard in Victoria on June 10 at Swan Hill. Since joining the new stable his barrier trials have been terrific, running in behind King Frankel and Bob’s Your Uncle, respectively. He looks wound up for this first-up assignment and will need to be after a 275-day spell. Tim Clark has the option to lead or take a sit in behind the tempo, and regardless of what he wants to do, one thing is for sure: at this price, we want to be with Yarrawonga on Sunday.
Best Bet
Race 9 – 
#5 Yarrawonga (4)
5yo Gelding | T: Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | J: Tim Clark (59kg)
$6 with Bet365
Canbbera quaddie tips for Black Opal Stakes Day
Canberra quadrella selections
Sunday, March 12, 2023
- 1-2-5
- 1-3-5-6
- 1-3-4-14-16
- 3-5-16
Investment: $180 for 100%
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