Emissary was a 40-1 outsider when he beat one rival in a field of 16 in the Group 1 English Derby at Epsom Racecourse in July 2020.
More than a year later, Emissary is on the other side of the world, with a different status in racing. Sunday, Emissary will be favored to win his second start in Australia, and third race of his career, in the Benalla Cup at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Benalla Racecourse.
The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 5 gained a potential international starter when Hello You recorded a mild upset in Friday’s Group 2 Rockfel Stakes at seven furlongs at Newmarket in England.
Hello You (who paid $15.40 in American pools) earned a fees-paid berth to the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf with a first career stakes win in the $122,900 Rockfel Stakes.
Short-priced favorites are expected to dominate Group 1 Australian races in Melbourne and Sydney on Saturday.
Zaaki, the future-book favorite for the Cox Plate on Oct. 23, will be odds-on to win his fifth stakes of 2021 in the Group 1 Underwood Stakes at 1 1/8 miles against only four rivals at Sandown Racecourse in Melbourne.
Masekela has found a rhythm in group stakes for 2-year-olds in England in recent months.
After finishing second by a head in the Group 2 Superlative Stakes at Newmarket in July, Masekela won the Denford Stakes at seven furlongs at Newbury on Aug. 14.
Those results will leave Masekela a slight favorite in Saturday’s Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes at a mile at Newmarket. The winner receives a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 5.
Golden Rose Preview - Rosehill: The 8th is the Golden Rose, a G1 million-dollar race for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs. Rosehill will host its first race day since July 24, having been in an area of Sydney that was under strict lockdown. Gerald Ryan, one of the leading trainers based at Rosehill, is glowing in his praise of the surface. A combination of rest and early-Spring weather will provide a luxurious carpet.
The 3-year-old Australian-bred Profiteer has already won a seven-figure race, doing so in the $1.54 million Inglis Millennium Stakes for 2-year-old sale graduates at Rosehill Gardens in January.
In his next two starts, Profiteer could reach two milestones – a first Group 1 win and a start in an eight-figure race.
Profiteer, unraced since a seventh in the Group 1 Golden Slipper Stakes for Southern Hemisphere 2-year-olds in March, will be favored to win Friday’s Group 1 Moir Stakes at five furlongs at Moonee Valley Racecourse in Melbourne.
Majestic Glory kept very good company when she won her stakes debut in the Group 3 Sweet Solera Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at Newmarket Racecourse in England on Aug. 7.
Runner-up Winter Beauty impressively won the Grade 1 Natalma Stakes at Woodbine last Sunday to earn a fees-paid berth for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 5.
The Australian gelding Macchina Volante is toward the top of apprentice jockey Jasper Franklin’s list of favorite mounts.
Franklin won his debut back in May at the age of 18 and has progressed as a jockey quickly in recent months. Twice, Franklin has had three-win days – at Murwillumbah on Aug. 20 and Lismore on Sept. 9.
Franklin rode Macchina Volante to a win in a handicap at 1 5/16 miles at Lismore that day and is back aboard the 5-year-old gelding in Thursday’s Lismore Cup at the same distance at Lismore Racecourse.
Andrew Le Jeune:
R1: 1-5-2-8
R2: 5-9-2-1
R3: 3-7-6-4
R4: 2-3-5-6
R5: 3-10-4-1
R6: 7-6-2-3
R7: 3-7-8-1
R8: 4-1-7-5
Best: R1 N1 Murray’s Partners
Each/way: R5 N3 Aurora Pegasus
Play: R5 Q/QP 3-4-10
Paul Lally:
R1 1-2-5-8
R2 2-5-1-9
R3 2-3-10-4
R4 2-9-3-4
R5 5-4-10-1
R6 6-2-3-7
R7 7-8-3-11
R8 1-4-2-8
Best Bet R8 N1 Decisive Twelve
Longshot R7 N7 Indicative Vote
Play QQP 1-4-2
Tom Wood:
