Baltic Coast & Spangler
THIS year’s Big Dance shelf is bare at present for last year’s inaugural winner Kris Lees.
But he is making a determined last-minute bid at Royal Randwick today to qualify one or two representatives in this year’s 1600m feature – now worth $3m – there on November 7.
Lees will have four runners – Spangler (Tommy Berry), Loch Eagle (Dylan Gibbons), Rogue Bear (Brock Ryan), and Baltic Coast (Jay Ford) in the Big Dance Wild Card (1600m).
This is the final qualifying race for The Big Dance, which Lees won last year with Rustic Steel, and the first two placegetters will be included in the November 7 line-up.
Interestingly, Loch Eagle and Spangler both qualified for the Provincial-Midway Championship Final (1400m) at Randwick in April when they finished first and second in the Wild Card (1400m) at home beforehand.
However, it was the reverse result in the Final, with Spangler, relishing the wet ground, romping to an easy victory over his stablemate.
“There’s not much between them,” Lees said this morning.
“Spangler has had the benefit of two runs back, and both have been good efforts,” Lees said.
“Since his third to Democracy Manifest in the Group 3 Cameron Handicap (1500m) at home last month, he has had a good hitout in a 1000m Gosford trial on October 11, easily beating three rivals.
“Loch Eagle also has had two runs back, and like Spangler went to the Gosford trials last week and won his 1000m heat against seven rivals.
“I have decided to put blinkers back on him to change things up.
“Rogue Bear won first up at Taree with a big weight, and Baltic Coast was a good second on the Kensington track when also resuming.”
Fellow Newcastle trainers Sam Kavanagh (Aramayo, Chad Schofield) and Paul Perry (Pandano, Kathy O’Hara) also have runners in the Wild Card, the ninth of 10 races..
Lees will have runners in three States tomorrow, with Willinga Beast lining up at Caulfield and Cacofonix and Snowzone representing the stable at Eagle Farm.
It wasn’t an easy decision to send Willinga Beast to Melbourne, where Damien Oliver will ride her in the Listed Alinghi Stakes (1100m), as she drew the rails barrier at Randwick in the Benchmark 78 Handicap over the same distance, though having plenty of weight.
“We gave the matter plenty of thought, but the Caulfield race presents an opportunity to earn black type against her own sex,” Lees said.
“She ran well first up when fourth-up to Red Card at Rosehill Gardens on September 9, and has since had a nice tick-over trial (September 29) on the Beaumont track.
“Willinga Beast arrived safely in Melbourne, has drawn favorably and I expect her to run well.”
Andrew Mallyon will ride both Cacofonix (Benchmark 68 Handicap, 1400m) and Snowzone (Open Handicap, 1200m) at Eagle Farm.
“Cacofonix has taken improvement from his first up run in more than a year, and has drawn the inside,” Lees said.
“He can run well, and blinkers go back on Snowzone.
“I would have preferred the race to be at Doomben, where he invariably goes well, but he has had two recent trials to get him ready for this assignment.”
. Other provincial trainers with Randwick runners are:
RACE 1: Kristen Buchanan (Shoutaboutit, Reece Jones);
RACE 3: Kristen Buchanan (Oakfield Waratah, Anna Roper), Oakfield Arrow (Rachel King), and Epicus (Koby Jennings), Jason Deamer (Awesome Lad, Andrew Adkins), Joe Ible (Big Apple, Dylan Gibbons), Rob and Luke Price (Victory Lane, Brett Prebble) and Satness (Brock Ryan), Terry Croft (Just A Brother, Kathy O’Hara), Theresa Bateup (1st Emergency Crackalacka), Nick Mitchell (2nd Emergency Miss Checkoni, Reece Jones), Ross McConville (4th Emergency Burning Need);
RACE 4: Mark Minervini (Raging Bull, Aaron Bullock), Ed Cummings (Queenmaker, Brock Ryan);
RACE 5: Nathan Doyle (Overriding, Koby Jennings);
RACE 6: Brad Widdup (Jedibeel, Tyler Schiller);
RACE 7: Rob and Luke Price (Cuban Royale, Dylan Gibbons);
RACE 8: Mark Minervini (New Republic, Jean Van Overmeire);
RACE 10: Sara Ryan (Much Much Better, Anna Roper), Tracey Bartley (Kiss Sum, Jason Collett) and Barossa Rosa (Reece Jones), David Atkins (Promitto, Aaron Bullock).
*Story John Curtis, October 20, 2023 - Pic Steve Hodge*
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