Co-trainer Chris Munce doesn’t know what his emerging star performer Cool Archie has to do to receive due respect from bookmakers and punters alike with the Coolazabeel colt currently quoted at double figure odds on the fifth line of betting for the Group 2 Sires Produce Stakes over 1400m at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
“The horse is exposed now, his form is there with people to do what they want with it. Obviously, they don’t respect his rating,” Munce told Racenet. “I’m sure he’ll run the seven furlongs strong. He’ll do it on his ear. He’s done everything right. He looks great and he’s doing extremely well.”
Certainly, Cool Archie has done everything asked of him in an eye-catching manner in this latest three-run preparation to date, going from a Maiden win, through a Listed race success in the Dalrello before taking another quantum leap to land the Group 2 Champagne Classic in his last start.
That three-run unbeaten sequence has highlighted not only Cool Archie’s inherent quality, but also his natural ‘fighter’s instinct’ as he had to dig deep under immense pressure to put those two feature race wins on his record.
That means he is now lining up his fourth straight win and, if he does salute in the Sires Produce Stakes and put up four wins in a row and annex another Group 2, that would be quite a feat by the Chris and Corey Munce training partnership.
He is due every respect.
But the bottom line is the Sires Produce Stakes is shaping up as likely to be a very tight contest.
Cool Archie will meet no less than eight runners who opposed him in the Champagne Classic again on Saturday on the same weight terms as when they last clashed.
The ruling Sires Produce favourite Gallo Nero finished second, beaten narrowly by 0.11 lengths in the Champagne Classic. Grafterburners was third, 0.49 lengths back. Beskar was fourth, 2.60 lengths back.
Hi Barbie finished fifth, 3.18 lengths behind the winner, just ahead of United States who was 3.55 length off the result and who was in turn 0.45 lengths ahead of Farnicle, while Torque To be Sure and Thee Creek were all further back behind that.
These runners were all in different stages of their preparation moving towards Saturday’s Group 1 assignment … and remember, we are talking two-year-olds here who can make vast improvement from one day to the next … so, the fact that eight runners finished within four lengths of Cool Archie in the Champagne Classic indicates just how tight a contest the Sires Produce could be.
Adding extra spice and incentive to win the final chase to the line in the Sires Produce is the fact that the winner will earn a ballot-free entry into the Group 1 J.J. Atkins on Stradbroke day.
It could be a thriller!
