Still strong at 7, Con Te Partiro eyes Winx Stakes upset

Con Te Partiro won stakes for trainer Wesley Ward at Saratoga in 2016 and Royal Ascot in 2017. Her greatest success, though, has been with legendary trainer Gai Waterhouse in Australia this year.

Con Te Partiro won Group 1 races in March and April after returning to racing when she failed to get into foal. The 7-year-old Con Te Partiro is still racing and will have her first start of the new Australian season in Saturday’s Group 1 Winx Stakes at seven furlongs at Royal Randwick.

The $361,500 Winx Stakes is the first Group 1 race of the season, which officially began Aug. 1. The race drew a full field of 16 and is a competitive race, without a clear favorite.

Con Te Partiro, who is co-trained by Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, was 10-1 on Tuesday in early betting. Funstar, a multiple stakes winner, was the future-book favorite early in the week, but was scratched Wednesday.

Con Te Partiro won the Group 1 Queen of the Turf Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile at Randwick on April 11 in her final start of the 2019-20 season.

The stakes winners Master of Wind and Verry Elleegant are likely to lead the betting.

Verry Elleegant, a winner of 8 of 20 starts and trained by Chris Waller, has particularly attractive form. She ran on consecutive Saturdays last March, finishing second by a half-length in the Group 1 Ranvet Stakes at 1 1/4 miles and winning the Group 1 Tancred Stakes at 1 1/2 miles the following week.

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Verry Elleegant ended the season with a second against the British import Addeybb in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on April 11. A 5-year-old mare, Verry Ellegant will start in a sprint Saturday for the first time since a fourth in the Group 2 Apollo Stakes at seven furlongs last February. She has won 2 of 5 starts at the distance in her career.

Master of Wind, a 6-year-old German-bred gelding, was fourth in the Queen Elizabeth, ending a four-race winning streak that included two stakes wins.

The distance is a good fit for Dreamforce and The Bostonian, who were first and second in the Group 1 George Ryder Stakes at 7 1/2 furlongs on March 21 at Rosehill Gardens, separated by a neck.

The Winx Stakes is part of a nine-race program that begins at 10 p.m. Eastern, or 7 p.m. Pacific, on Friday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.