Australia: Verry Elleegant, Colette take on boys in Chipping Norton Stakes

Forget the boys. The Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday may be dominated by the 5-year-old mare Verry Elleegant and the 4-year-old filly Colette.

The Chipping Norton Stakes is run at a mile and has a rich recent history. The famous mare Winx won the race for four consecutive years from 2016-19.

Colette, a three-time stakes winner trained by James Cummings for Godolphin Racing, won her first start of 2021 in the Group 2 Apollo Stakes at seven furlongs on Feb. 13 at Randwick, cruising to a two-length win at 11-1 with a fine late rally. Rachel King was aboard for that win and has the mount in the Chipping Norton.

In the Apollo, Colette finished two lengths clear of Kolding, a 5-year-old gelding who won the Group 1 George Main Stakes at a mile on Sept. 19 at Randwick, a race in which Verry Elleegant and Colette finished fourth and fifth.

Kolding is part of the Chipping Norton field, seeking his third Group 1 win. Kolding won the $5.1 million Golden Eagle Stakes at 7 1/2 furlongs at Rosehill Gardens in 2019, a race won by Colette last October.

The Chipping North field includes Avilius, who was 22nd in the Melbourne Cup on Nov. 3 at Flemington.

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Verry Elleegant was seventh in the Melbourne Cup after winning two Group 1 races in October – the Turnbull Stakes at 1 1/4 miles at Flemington and the Caulfied Cup at 1 1/2 miles at Caulfield Racecourse. Verry Elleegant has won at races as short as seven furlongs, but could be better suited to races longer than the one-mile distance of the $476,280 Chipping Norton.

The Chipping Norton Stakes is the sixth race on a nine-race program that begins at 9:15 p.m. Eastern, or 6:15 p.m. Pacific, on Friday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

The Chipping Norton Stakes is followed by the Group 1 Surround Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs.

The race drew 17 and has a safety limit of 16. The $396,900 Surround Stakes will be the Group 1 debut for La Mexicana, who won the Group 3 Kevin Hayes Stakes at six furlongs by a nose on Feb. 6 at Caulfield for her fifth win in seven starts.

The Surround Stakes is the first start since a third in the Group 1 Victorian Oaks in November for Montefilia, winner of consecutive Group 1 races at a mile and 1 1/4 miles at Randwick in October.

The field includes 10 of the 14 fillies that ran in the Group 2 Lightfinger Stakes at six furlongs on Feb. 13 at Randwick, including first three finishes Every Rose, Never Talk, and Away Game.

Saturday’s leading race at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne is the Group 1 Australian Guineas for 3-year-olds at a mile, which drew a strong field of 16 led by Tagaloa, Aysar and Ole Kirk.

Tagaloa and Aysar were first and second in the Group 3 C.S. Hayes Stakes at seven furlongs on Feb. 13 at Flemington. Ole Kirk won Group 1 races at seven furlongs and a mile in September and October, but was eighth of nine against older horses in the Group 1 Futurity Stakes at seven furlongs at Caulfield last Saturday.