Stakes winning sprinters Adebisi and Excellantes will add some star power to this week’s night meeting at the Sunshine Coast.
The two were both scheduled to run at Doomben on Saturday but the 1050m race was scrapped when there were only four acceptors.
It left Adebisi’s trainer Desleigh Forster and Excellantes’ trainer Rob Heathcote in a quandary as they were both planning to use the race as a lead-up to upcoming features in Brisbane.
Racing Queensland has agreed to increase prize money for a 1000m open sprint at the Sunshine Coast on Friday night to $50,000.
“It is good of Racing Queensland to put the extra prize money into the race. As it will still be a provincial race I won’t be able to claim on Adebisi,” Forster said.
“I expect him to get 61 kilograms and I think I will put Anthony Allen on him and he can go around a $6 chance.”
The Listed Keith Noud Quality on November 22 and the Group Three George Moore Strakes on December 4 are targets for both Adebisi and Excellantes.
Adebisi will be having his first start since winning a Doomben open handicap on September 6.
The gelding has been a great money spinner having earned $866,000 which is a marvellous return on his $15,000 purchase price.
Excellantes is likely to be ridden by Damian Browne in Friday’s race.
Heathcote was unhappy with Saturday’s race being abandoned, saying he could have bolstered the race with a few of his lesser performed sprinters but chose to play by the rules.
It was the second week in a row a race in Brisbane had been deleted due to insufficient starters.
“They should be running open company races no matter what,” he said.
“Surely a race between Adebisi and Excellantes would have attracted more attention than the rest of the card.”
