Silent Achiever claimed the scalps of Fiorente and It’s A Dundeel in the Ranvet Stakes but punters are cautious about a repeat in the BMW.
So is the mare’s trainer Roger James.
In a show of respect for her high-profile rivals, James says markets are not underselling Silent Achiever by having her on the third line of betting behind Fiorente and It’s A Dundeel.
Both gallopers finished in her wake last start, It’s A Dundeel third and Fiorente seventh.
“They’re two great horses that are the favoured horses above us and they’ve got the record on the board,” James said.
“I think the punters have got it right … you can never write those sort of horses off.”
Punters are banking on Melbourne Cup winner Fiorente relishing a distance rise to 2400 metres in the BMW, and having better luck in the run.
It’s A Dundeel gets out to Saturday’s trip for the first time since he won the Australian Derby by six lengths last autumn.
However, the four-year-old’s BMW preparation has been surrounded by drama after he showed signs of lameness on Monday.
He has since been under scrutiny from vets and stewards who were at Warwick Farm on Thursday morning to watch his trackwork and recovery.
The horse has been wearing bar plates in his work but will compete in standard race plates, provided he passes a final test by Racing NSW vets on Friday.
Silent Achiever has had no such dramas as she prepares to go one better than her narrow second in the corresponding race last year.
While Saturday’s edition is stronger, even with the early scratchings of the Lloyd Williams-owned stablemates Green Moon and Mourayan, Silent Achiever is also racing in superior form, improvement James attributes to the addition of blinkers.
They went on three starts ago and she has been undefeated since.
James’s belief that blinkers would help Silent Achiever bridge the gap on the top horses was borne out by her Ranvet triumph.
“I’d been very happy with her (Ranvet) build up and I thought the blinkers had improved her a couple of lengths,” he said.
“She’d never been much more than a couple of lengths away from the very best all spring so I thought that brought her into it.”
