Filly Opal Ridge won the inaugural running of the Tapp-Craig, and Hawkes Racing is hoping Makarena can make it a clean sweep for the girls when she steps out in the $500,000 Rosehill feature.
In an unusual move for the stable, the three-year-old will contest Saturday’s 1400 metre race at just her third start and will be the most inexperienced horse in the field.
But it is testament to the regard in which the family training trio of John, Michael and Wayne Hawkes hold Makarena that she is being deep-ended so soon.
“We’re taking on the Saturday league but it’s a good money race and she’s got a very bright future. She’s a very good filly,” Michael Hawkes said.
“She should have won first-up when she ran second, then she won really well last start when she probably did it back-to-front, she had to go forward (midrace) and still really hit the line. Not many horses can do that.”
Makarena only secured a late rails run when second to subsequent Group 2 placegetter Nadal on debut in August, then did an outstanding job to lift late and win last start after working hard midrace.
Team Hawkes will have three runners in the other non-black type feature at Rosehill, the $1.5 million Alan Brown Stakes (1400m) after two early scratchings cleared the way for second emergency Flying Crazy to join stablemates Bandersnatch and Wild Planet in the field.
Flying Crazy, who has drawn barrier nine, has turned in two eye-catching performances from a spell, the latest when closing for fourth to Saturday’s rival Cepheus in the Shannon Stakes (1500m).
“He’s going great the horse,” Hawkes said of Flying Crazy.
“We decided to bypass an Epsom berth and he’s going to run in the Big Dance, but we thought this was a nice race in between.
“The other two are drawn seventeen (Bandersnatch) and twenty-two (Wild Planet) so they will need a lot of luck.”
