Last Saturday, feature racing took place across the country, with Group and Listed races headlining the cards at Randwick, Eagle Farm, Mornington and Ascot. In this week’s edition of The Follow Files, we have focused on runners that could potentially race during the Queensland Racing Carnival, which kicks off in two weeks’ time. We suggest adding these runners to your blackbook so that you can follow them for the rest of the preparation.
Randwick
Rail position: +7m 1000m to winning post, +5m remainder
Race 6: Group 3 JRA Plate (2000m) | Time: 2:07.36
- Horse to follow: Huetor (1st)
Around this time of year, Huetor is normally gearing up for another assault on the Queensland Racing Carnival, and after running in the JRA Plate last year, he returned in 2024. However, the son of Archipenko would go a couple better this year, taking out the Group 3 JRA Plate second-up. The Peter & Paul Snowden-trained gelding was given a very smart ride by Nash Rawiller, as he stuck to the inside running rail and took over at the 200m mark before careering away with a dominant victory.
When to bet: Post-race, the Snowden’s confirmed that Huetor would follow his typical route over the winter by going to the Hollindale Stakes and then attempt to claim his third straight Doomben Cup. Considering he will go to Brisbane in better form this year, Huetor is worth following in his next two starts.
Eagle Farm
Rail position: +1m entire circuit
Race 8: Listed Ascot Quality Handicap (1000m) | Time: 0:57.86
- Horse to follow: All That Pizzazz (2nd)
All That Pizzazz kicked off his winter campaign with an impressive run in the Ascot Quality Handicap, where the Tony Gollan-trained galloper finished second behind The Big Goodbye over 1000m at Eagle Farm. John Allen rode this son of Spirit Of Boom near on perfectly and allowed him to build down the outside in the final 400m, but was just beaten by a horse with a more economical run on his inside. Although he was beaten, this four-year-old gelding is expected to take a lot of benefit from the fresh run and improve second-up.
When to bet: After performing so well in Listed company against open-age horses, the Listed ATC Cup over 1200m at the Gold Coast on May 11 looks to be the ideal race for All That Pizzazz next start.
Mornington
Rail position: True entire circuit
Race 9: Listed Hareeba Stakes (1200m) | Time: 1:11.46
- Horse to follow: The Inferno (3rd)
It has been more than two years since his last victory, but The Inferno’s last two starts have been some of his best in the last 12 months, with his most recent third-place finish behind Maharba in the Listed Hareeba Stakes being the best in some time. The Cliff Brown-trained sprinter was never on the track at Mornington and was trapped four-wide the trip before letting down with a strong finish to go down by an official margin of 0.12 lengths.
When to bet: After multiple attempts at Group 1 level, it appears that Brown and his team have lowered their expectations, and The Inferno will compete in Group 2 or 3 contests. If they can find a 1200m race in that grade in Queensland for him, The Inferno can give a good sight for his followers.
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