Weight could be decisive factor in Ingham Stakes

A wide draw and a hefty weight assignment threaten to end a two-race winning streak for Gringotts in Saturday’s Group 2 Ingham Stakes at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia.

Gringotts will start from the outside in a field of 20 in the Ingham Stakes, which is run on a right-handed, one-turn course of approximately a mile (1,600 meters). A winner of 12 of 25 starts, Gringotts will carry top weight of 134.4 pounds, spotting 19 rivals from 8.8 to 17.6 pounds.

Despite those challenges, Gringotts was the 7-2 favorite in early betting as of Wednesday. A New Zealand-bred 6-year-old gelding, Gringotts won two lucrative races at a mile in November – the $1.96 million Big Dance Stakes at Randwick on Nov. 4 and the Group 3, $645,200 The Gong Stakes at Kembla Grange Racecourse on Nov. 22.

Gringotts carried high weights in those races – 136.6 pounds in the Big Dance and 134.4 pounds at Kembla Grange. Trained by Ciaron Maher, Gringotts won the same two races in November 2024.

In Saturday’s $1.32 million Ingham Stakes, the geldings Sabaj and Yorkshire will each carry 116.8 pounds and are given excellent chances to beat Gringotts.

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Sabaj has won 5 of 8 starts and will appear in his richest race in the Ingham Stakes. Sabaj closed from 10th of 13 to win the Cranbourne Cup at a mile at Cranbourne Racecourse on Nov. 22, two weeks after winning a minor handicap at a mile at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne.

Sabaj was 5-1 in early betting for the Ingham, while Yorkshire was 9-2.

Yorkshire, a winner of 7 of 10 starts, has had mixed form in his last two races. He was last of 16 as the 2-1 favorite in the Group 2 Hunter Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs at Newcastle Racecourse on Nov. 15 and was later diagnosed with a cardiac arrhythmia, according to a report from track stewards. The loss ended a three-race winning streak.

Yorkshire returned to win the Group 3 Festival Stakes at 7 1/2 furlongs at Rosehill Gardens in Sydney on Nov. 29 as the 8-5 favorite in his next start, his seventh victory in 10 starts.

The Ingham Stakes is part of a 10-race program and has a post time of 12:45 a.m. Eastern on Saturday.

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