Australia: Hawaii Five Oh, Amelia's Jewel headline Golden Eagle Stakes

A stakes with a massive purse and a key last-chance qualifier for the Melbourne Cup early next week highlight stakes at tracks in Sydney and Melbourne in Australia on Friday evening.

The races range from two top-class sprints, races at 7 1/2 furlongs and a mile, and staying races at 1 9/16 miles.

The richest race in the nation on Friday evening is the $6.41 million Golden Eagle Stakes for Southern Hemisphere 4-year-olds at 7 1/2 furlongs at Rosehill Gardens. The race drew 19 runners led by the colt Hawaii Five Oh and filly Amelia’s Jewel, who both run from off the pace.

Hawaii Five Oh won two Group 3 races at seven furlongs in April and May and followed with a good third in the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap at seven furlongs in June, which annually draws a difficult field.

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Amelia’s Jewel won consecutive Group 2 races at seven furlongs and a mile in a two-week span in September, but was ninth of 14 in the Group 1 Toorak Handicap against a tougher group at a mile on Oct. 14.

The top sprint on the program at Rosehill Gardens is the $1.92 million Giga Kick Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs which is led by Think About It, who has won 11 of 12 starts, including his last start in the $12.8 million Everest Stakes at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney in October. The Everest is the world’s richest sprint.

The Rosehill Gardens program begins at 9:10 p.m. Eastern or 6:10 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

The Group 3 Archer Stakes at 1 9/16 miles at Flemington has a purse of $192,450, the lowest of four high-profile races on the card. The winner of the Archer Stakes gains a berth in the Melbourne Cup at two miles, which is run in Australia on Tuesday, or Monday evening across American time zones.

Athabascan, seventh in the Group 2 Moonee Valley Cup at 1 9/16 miles on Oct. 27, needs a win in the Archer Stakes to gain a berth in the Melbourne Cup.

Athabascan, who is 3-2 in early betting, is currently ranked 26th on the list of candidates. The Melbourne Cup will be limited to 24 runners.

Athabascan, the winner of consecutive stakes at 1 1/2 miles in September, is part of a field of seven in the Archer. Other starters such as Kalapour (7-2), Mosty Cloudy (4-1), United Nations (9-2), and Ladies Man (6-1) are also ranked outside of the first 24 in the Melbourne Cup candidates and need a win in the Archer to join the field.

There are three Group 1 races at Flemington on the opening day of the track’s Melbourne Cup Spring Carnival.

Apulia, a winner of 3 of 8 starts, will have his Group 1 debut in the $1.28 million Victoria Derby for Southern Hemisphere 3-year-olds at 1 9/16 miles. Apulia won a Group 2 at about 1 1/4 miles at Moonee Valley on Oct. 28 to earn the role of favorite.

Apulia, who is effective as a stalker, must beat the heavy favorite in Riff Rocket, who won the Super Impose Stakes at 1 1/8 miles at Flemington on Oct. 7. Two weeks later, Riff Rocket was second by a nose in the Robinson Stakes at 1 1/4 miles at Caulfield.

The multiple stakes winner Cylinder will be favored to win the $1.28 million Coolmore Stud Stakes at six furlongs against a field of 18. Cylinder was fifth in the Everest Stakes, beaten slightly more than 1 1/4 lengths.

Shinzo, who won the Group 1 Golden Slipper for 2-year-olds in March, but was ninth in the Everest Stakes, is rated as a contender who can be a factor from off the pace.

Princess Grace, a five-time graded stakes winner in the United States from 2020 to 2022, is one of several contenders in the $641,200 Empire Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile.

Princess Grace was trained by Mike Stidham in the United States and is now trained by Chris Waller. Princess Grace was second by slightly less than a half-length in the Group 2 Blazer Stakes at seven furlongs at Flemington on Oct. 7, her fourth loss since returning from a four-month layoff in mid-August.

Princess Grace’s main rivals in the Empire Rose are Alcohol Free and Atishu.

Alcohol Free was fourth by a little more than a half-length in the Invitation Stakes for fillies and mares at seven furlongs at Randwick on Oct. 28, while Atishu was 13th of 14 in the Grade 1 King Charles III Stakes against males at Randwick on Oct. 14.

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