Australia: Eduardo heavy favorite in Doomben 10,000 Stakes
It took a Horse of the Year to stop Eduardo’s winning streak in top sprints in Australia earlier this year.
Eduardo won the Group 2 Challenge Stakes at five furlongs at Royal Randwick Racecourse on March 6, beating 2019-2020 Australian Horse of the Year Nature Spirit, and followed with a win in the Group 1 Galaxy Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs at Rosehill Gardens on March 27.
Nature Spirit beat Eduardo in the Group 1 T.J. Smith Stakes at Randwick on April 10. Eduardo was third, beaten 2 3/4 lengths.
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Nature Spirit is currently being rested, but Eduardo’s campaign continues in Saturday’s Group 1 Doomben 10,000 Stakes at six furlongs at Doomben Racecourse in Brisbane.
Eduardo is expected to be a heavy favorite in the $772,400 race against 10 rivals in his first appearance at the track.
Trained by Joseph Pride, Eduardo has won 7 of 20 starts, with the wins at distances ranging from five to 6 1/2 furlongs. Eduardo typically sets the pace.
Eduardo will provide a target for the improving 3-year-old Wild Ruler, a winner of 5 of 10 starts. Wild Ruler won the Group 2 Arrowfield Stakes at six furlongs at Randwick on April 17 for his third stakes win in his last five starts, a span that includes a sixth-place finish in Galaxy Stakes.
The veteran gelding Trekking is winless in six starts since the Group 1 Goodwood Stakes at Morphettville Racecourse in May 2020, and starts in the Doomben 10,000 following a fifth in the Group 2 Victory Stakes at six furlongs at Eagle Farm Racecourse on May 1 in his lone start this year.
Trekking has won 3 of 8 starts in his second appearance following a layoff in his career and has the class to play an important role in the Doomben 10,000.
Doomben has a nine-race program that begins at 9:38 p.m., Eastern, or 6:38 p.m., Pacific, on Friday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.
* Gytrash, a 5-year-old Australian-bred sprinter, has been given a light campaign since he finished second by a nose to Trekking in the Group 1 Goodwood Stakes at Morphettville Racecourse in May 2020.
Unraced since a win in the $770,000 Yes Yes Yes Stakes at Rosehill Gardens last October, Gytrash will have his 2021 debut in Saturday’s $387,937 Goodwood Stakes, the gelding’s third consecutive appearance in the race.
Gytrash was 10th in 2019, but has since risen in prominence in the Australian sprint division. Two weeks prior to the win in the Yes Yes Yes Stakes, Gytrash was third in the $10.7 million Everest Stakes at six furlongs at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney.
The Goodwood Stakes at Morphettville, in Adelaide, drew a field of 11, including Behemoth and Instant Celebrity.
Behemoth, a six-time stakes winner, was third by 3 3/4 lengths in the $3.85 million All-Star Mile at Moonee Valley Racecourse on March 13, but is equally effective as a sprinter, having won consecutive Group 1 races at seven furlongs last August and September and a minor stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs in January.
Behemoth is a threat from off the pace, while the 3-year-old filly Instant Celebrity is a closer. A winner of 5 of 7 starts, Instant Celebrity won the Group 1 TAB Classic at six furlongs for fillies and mares at Morphettville on May 1. The TAB Classic was previously known as the Robert Sangster Stakes.
The Morphettville program begins at 9:56 p.m., Eastern, on Friday.