Punters have come with their money for Amralah to give leviathan owner Lloyd Williams a fourth Turnbull Stakes in the past seven years at Flemington.
The horse has been backed from $11 to $6 with TAB this week to join Green Moon (2012), Zipping (2010), and Efficient (2009) as recent winners for Williams.
A Group Three winner in England, Amralah broke through at his third Australian start in the Listed Penang Trophy (1800m) in Adelaide last month.
On Sunday, he will be out to join his Robert Hickmott-trained stablemate Fawkner as a Flemington Group One winner this spring with the eight-year-old scoring a narrow win in the Makybe Diva Stakes last month.
Alpine Eagle and Royal Descent share Turnbull Stakes favouritism at $5.50 with the former chasing a Group One win to help his claims for a Cox Plate berth.
His trainer Tony McEvoy is excited about getting Alpine Eagle up to 2000 metres for the first time.
His best performance in his eight starts was his win in the Group Two Autumn Classic in which he wound up from back in field over 1800 metres.
“Out to 2000 metres – this is his time,” McEvoy said.
Trainer Kris Lees won the Turnbull a year ago with Lucia Valentina who runs in the Epsom Handicap in Sydney on Saturday.
Lees will be represented in this year’s Turnbull by the 2014 Melbourne Cup winner Protectionist who is stepping up to 2000m for the first time this spring.
He finished unplaced in the Tramway Stakes (1400m) and George Main Stakes (1600m) but Lees said he was pleased with Protectionist’s progress.
“The Turnbull will be a little short of his best but I want to see him finish the race off and give us a good platform leading into the Caulfield Cup,” Lees said.
