It’s a wide-open edition of the Group 2 Theo Marks Stakes (1300m) this Saturday afternoon at Rosehill, with a full list of 16 runners – many of whom are resuming – set to line up.
Kovalica is the leading chance, with the four-year-old gelding returning from a 103-day spell following his win in the Group 1 Queensland Derby on May 27.
Chris Waller has a stranglehold on the race with four more acceptors to go along with the favourite – including Militarize, who is also accepted the Group 2 Run To The Rose earlier in the program.
Online bookmakers are finding it hard to split the next three gallopers behind the favourite, with Madame Pommery, Zougotcha and Nugget all well-supported early.
Godolphin’s leading hope, Golden Mile, is expected to improve coming back into Group 2 company, with the son of Astern coming through the Group 1 Winx Stakes on August 19.
Some other intriguing gallopers set to return include topweight The Inevitable, who we haven’t seen since running third behind Mr Brightside in the All-Star Mile on March 18, and Waterford, who will be looking to rectify a lacklustre autumn campaign.
The winner of this race will go on to be ballot-exempt for the Group 1 Epsom Handicap (1600m) on September 30.
The 2023 Theo Marks Stakes is the penultimate race at Rosehill this Saturday and is set to jump at 4:35pm AEST.
Theo Marks Stakes 2023 field
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