Australia: Nature Strip heavy favorite in Darley Sprint Classic

Before they teamed to win Tuesday’s Group 1 Melbourne Cup with Verry Elleegant, top Australian jockey James McDonald and leading trainer Chris Waller won the $11.05 million Everest Stakes for sprinters with Nature Strip last month at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney.

Verry Ellegant recorded a 15-1 upset. There will be no hefty price at all when Nature Strip starts in Saturday’s Group 1 Darley Sprint Classic at six furlongs at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne.

Nature Strip, the 2019-2020 Australian Horse of the Year, was 2-5 in early betting on Wednesday for the $1.5 million Darley Sprint Classic, which drew a field of nine.

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A 7-year-old gelding, Nature Strip has won 18 of 33 starts. The Everest Stakes was his third win in his last four starts. Nature Strip led throughout the Everest, the world’s richest sprint.

Waller has three other runners in the Darley Sprint Classic, notably September Run, a Group 1 winner in October 2020 who is winless in her last eight starts, and Ranch Hand, fourth by 3 3/4 lengths in the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes at six furlongs for 3-year-olds at Flemington last Saturday.

The Darley Sprint Classic is the first of two Group 1 sprints on a nine-race program that begins at 9:40 p.m. Eastern or 6:40 p.m. Pacific on Friday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

Zaaki will be favored in the Group 1 Mackinnon Stakes at 1 1/4 miles after a disrupted campaign in the last month. Zaaki was third in the Group 1 Caulfield Stakes at 1 1/4 miles at Caulfield Racecourse on Oct. 9, a loss that ended a four-race winning streak, all in Group 1 or Group 2 stakes.

On Oct. 23, Zaaki was a late scratch from the Group 1 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley because of a fever. He was the future-book favorite for the Cox Plate, Australia’s top weight-for-age race.

Trained by Annabel Neasham, Zaaki was 3-2 in early betting for the Mackinnon, which drew a field of 10. McDonald rides Zaaki and has experience with the gelding, having ridden him to three stakes wins in the recent streak.

The 5-year-old mare Colette was 9-2 on Wednesday for the Mackinnon. She makes a rapid turnaround following a win in the Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile at Flemington last Saturday. Colette was a Group 3 winner at 1 1/4miles at Randwick in April 2020.

Mo’unga, trained by Neasham, beat Verry Elleegant when they were first and second in the Group 1 Winx Stakes at seven furlongs at Randwick on Aug. 21 in the first start for both following layoffs.

Mo’unga was beaten in three subsequent starts in Group 1 races, including a fourth in the Cox Plate.