Co-trainers Annabel and Rob Archibald, fresh from a fine feature race double at Eagle Farm yesterday, will be looking to plunder more Queensland riches when they send out two runners in the $1 million The Archer at Rockhampton today.
With two Group 2 wins already in the bank … courtesy of Depth Of Character’s win in the Queensland Guineas and Libertad’s shock success in the Victory Stakes (the son of Russian Revolution saluted at a starting price of $71) … it will be a great weekend for the stable whatever Swiss Exile and Space Tracker do in The Archer.
“It’s hard to separate the two runners,” said Annabel Archibald. “Space Tracker wins a bit more often than Swiss Exile, but both horses are going well.
“They both go into the race on the back of wins, and it looks an open race.
“The top few in the market look better credentialed, but they are at the end of a long preparation so, hopefully, they are their way down and we are on the up.
“We were lucky enough to get offered the two slots,” continued Archbald. “Space Tracker hates the wet and it was wet last weekend, but we were more than happy to take the slot and wait.
“He’s drawn barrier seven. He makes his own luck sort of up on the pace … and Swiss Exile has raced a lot. He won a Group race in Brisbane (the Group 2 Champagne Classic) some time ago, and he hadn’t won since until he won the other day (at Doomben on April 1).
“He has been running really well all prep, so he is a horse who can surprise at odds.”
This is the first time the stable will have runners in The Archer.
