A midweek win over two highly-regarded colts has earned Orpheum a chance against some of Sydney’s best fillies in the Group Two Furious Stakes at Randwick.
The three-year-old appreciated a firm surface to defeat I Am Swerving and Malkovich on the Kensington circuit last start, rebounding from an unplaced run on a heavy track at Gosford.
Trainer Ron Quinton says Saturday’s race will be a fact finding mission to see how Orpheum measures up against the better fillies, including Silver Shadow Stakes winner Dame Giselle and the resuming Hungry Heart.
“Whether she is up to these or not it’s hard to know but there’s not a champion filly in it, is there?” Quinton said.
“It’s a bit premature to be making any bold predictions at this point but we’re going to learn a lot on Saturday.”
Quinton regarded Orpheum highly enough to run her in the Gimcrack Stakes as a juvenile and she made late headway to finish fourth to Every Rose.
Her barrier manners have let her down a couple of times but Quinton says she is professional in almost every other way.
“A few times she hasn’t come out of the gates that clean, it was the best she has jumped the other day,” Quinton said.
“She has a funny head carriage but other than that she is foolproof. She’s a great eater and a good horse in the stable.”
Sweet Embrace Stakes winner Hungry Heart will line up for the first time since finishing fifth in Farnan’s Golden Slipper and she is an early TAB fixed odds favourite.
Trainer Chris Waller confirmed she will continue through the Princess series races with her major goal the Group One Flight Stakes.
“She showed as a two-year-old she’s got the X-factor and she is by Frankel so you naturally expect her to improve,” Waller said.
“We know she is very good and when she gets out to a mile she is going to be very hard to beat in a Flight Stakes.”
