Rival trainers fear odds-on favourite Whobegotyou will be too classy for their horses as he shoots for his first Flemington win in the Blamey Stakes.
Mick Price dodged Saturday’s Group One Australian Cup (2000m) with Spacecraft to run him in the Group Two Blamey.
But he doesn’t think the Galileo four-year-old is up to beating Whobegotyou who is being prepared for another crack at the $2 million Group One Doncaster Mile at Randwick on April 16, a race in which he ran third as a three-year-old in 2009.
“Whobegotyou is a moral,” Price, who at the same time is happy with Spacecraft who is coming off a third to stablemate and Australian Cup favourite Heart Of Dreams in the Group Two St George Stakes (1800m) at Caulfield, said.
“He (Spacecraft) is going very well. It’s a suitable race and he gets his chance”.
Peter Moody will saddle up Doubtful Jack in the 1600m set weights plus penalties event.
“He’s four for four at Flemington. He loves the big track there and he’ll race on or about the speed,” Moody said.
“It looked a perfect race until we saw who the (equal) topweight was.
“Whobegotyou is the class horse. He’s probably the only genuine Group One horse in the race and with even luck it’s hard to see him being beaten.”
The David Hayes-trained Extra Zero has been unplaced in his nine outings since winning the Group Two Autumn Classic (1800m) more than a year ago.
“He has been set for this race and I’m sure he’ll run well,” Hayes said.
“But I didn’t expect him to run into Whobegotyou.”
Trainer Mark Kavanagh is very happy with Whobegotyou who resumed after his Cox Plate placing last spring with a closing second to More Joyous in the Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield.
“It looks a nice race for him. There’s no More Joyous there,” Kavanagh said.
“It’s three weeks until he goes to Sydney so that’s a nice race for him. It’s a lot weaker race than what he’s been in for a long time.”
The Street Cry five-year-old has raced at Flemington just twice and was runner-up both times, in the 2008 Victoria Derby (2500m) to Rebel Raider and in a 1400m Listed race to Rockpecker at Saturday’s corresponding meeting two years ago.
Kavanagh plans to run Whobegotyou in the Group One George Ryder Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill on April 2 leading into the Doncaster.
Whobegotyou is $1.70 favourite with TAB Sportsbet ahead of Dao Dao, third in the Futurity, at $5 and Spacecraft at $7.50 with Doubtful Jack at $12.
AAP TURF
