An outstanding edition of the Group 2 $250,000 Apollo Stakes (1400m) steals the show in Sydney on Saturday with Kerry Parker’s returning Rosehill Cup champ Think It Over the firming favourite to win.
Think It Over is favourite to win the 2022 Apollo Stakes first-up at Randwick on Saturday. Photo: Steve Hart.
Fourteen top weight-for-age hopes line-up in this season’s Apollo Stakes field with the $3.80 favourite at Ladbrokes.com.au to jump from barrier 10 with Nash Rawiller aboard.
A winner of three straight last time in, So You Think six-year-old Think It Over has plenty of form at Royal Randwick (16:6-2-3) including spring wins in the Group 2 Chelmsford Stakes (1600m), Group 2 Hill Stakes (2000m) and Group 3 Craven Plate (2000m).
While the 1400m distance is short of his preferred, fresh he looks well placed and he did win the Group 3 Liverpool City Cup over 1300m first-up last February at Randwick.
Last campaign his first-up sixth in the Group 1 Winx Stakes at the 1400m saw him beaten only 0.66 lengths giving plenty of merit to his claims in the Apollo this weekend.
“I was just checking the betting for Saturday’s race and thought they haven’t given us a lot of value,” Parker told Punters this week.
“But I guess the horse is getting the recognition he deserves now.
“The further he went through his preparation last spring, the more margins he was putting on them.
“He had a great spring and importantly went out on a high.
“I’m really happy with him, he has come through his trials in good order and has worked well this week.
“He does have a bit of form on wet tracks but ideally I’d like the track to be around the Soft 5 range.
“But I can’t fault the horse, he looks great and I’m looking forward to getting him back to the ‘sports’ this Saturday.”
Currently Parker’s wishes are coming true with Randwick rated a Soft 5 on Friday morning.
The danger and headline runner in the mix occupying the second line of Apollo Stakes betting at $5 is Chris Waller’s Melbourne Cup winning mare Verry Elleegant.
Fourth in this race back in 2020 and third behind Colette last year, the brilliant daughter of Zed is back and looking to add to her incredible prize fund that sits just shy of $14.3 million.
She took her Group 1 wins into double-figures when claiming Australia’s most iconic race, the Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m), at Flemington last November and all eyes will be on the now six-year-old on Saturday.
No doubt Verry Elleegant will be better over further later this campaign with bigger targets ahead, but on class alone and at one of her favourite tracks she will be hard to ignore jumping from barrier one with James McDonald back aboard.
Waller also saddles-up last year’s runner-up Kolding who is a $34 outsider chasing his first victory since the All Aged Stakes, and his reigning ATC Oaks winning daughter of Frankel Hungry Heart ($21) out to break her nearly year-long drought.
Godolphin trainer James Cummings chases his third consecutive Apollo Stakes victory having won in 2020 with Alizee before the 2021 success with fellow mare Colette last Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival.
Hallowed Crown five-year-old Colette returns chasing back-to-back victories for the first time since the mighty Winx (2016-17) – who also won again in 2019 – and she is the market mover now into $6.50 to do so.
The 2022 Apollo Stakes is scheduled to run as Randwick Race 8 at 4:45pm (AEDT) on Saturday’s bumper 10 race card.
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