Verry Elleegant needed every stride of the Group 1 Winx Stakes at seven furlongs on Aug. 22 at Royal Randwick Racecourse to reach the front for her seventh graded stakes win. Verry Elleegant figures to be even more dangerous from off the pace again in Saturday’s Group 1 George Main Stakes at a mile at the same venue in Sydney, Australia. A 5-year-old New Zealand-bred mare, Verry Elleegant was 7-5 in future-book betting Wednesday for the $367,000 George Main Stakes, one of the top races on the Australian September calendar. :: Get free past performances, analysis, and picks for Australian racing Verry Elleegant, trained by Chris Waller, was fourth in the 2019 George Main behind Avilius and Dreamforce, who are part of Saturday’s field. Since the 2019 George Main, Verry Elleegant has won 3 of 8 starts. This year, Verry Elleegant has won major stakes at distances ranging from seven furlongs in the Winx to 1 1/2 miles in the Group 1 Tancred Stakes at Rosehill Gardens in March. The George Main Stakes is the sixth race on a nine-race program that begins at 10:15 p.m. Eastern, or 7:15 p.m. Pacific, on Friday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com. In the last year, Avilius and Dreamforce have had mixed results. Avilius, a winner of 11 of 29 starts in his career, is winless in eight starts since the George Main. He finished behind Verry Elleegant in three Group 1 races in February and March. Trained by James Cummings, Avilius was fourth in the Group 2 Chelmsford Stakes at a mile on Sept. 5 at Royal Randwick in his first start since a third in the Tancred. Dreamforce, an 8-year-old who tends to run near the front, has had brighter form. He led in the Winx Stakes before fading to finish 15th of 16. In the Group 2 Tramway Stakes on Sept. 5 at Randwick, Dreamforce led throughout to win by about a neck over Kolding, who is part of the seven-horse field in the George Main. Dreamforce is trained by John Thompson and is his sole starter in the race. Waller has four runners, including Kolding, while Cummings has two starters. This is the time of year when weekend programs in Australia are loaded with group-level stakes. At Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne, the main race on Saturday is the Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes at seven furlongs, which drew a well-matched field of 16. The race is run as a handicap, and topweight Behemoth, at 132 pounds, will be favored. Trained by David Jolly, Behemoth has won his last two starts, including the Group 1 Memsie Stakes at seven furlongs on Aug. 29 at Caulfield in his first victory at the highest level. Tagaloa, a Southern Hemisphere 3-year-old, will have his first start against older horses in the Clarke Stakes. He was a Group 1 winner at six furlongs in February. The Caulfield program begins at 10:15 p.m., Eastern on Friday.