There are a few local lead-up races this year, that are providing key form – the Auraria Stakes, the Port Adelaide Guineas, and the Clare Lindop Stakes. The first two were not particularly strong races, and were won by horses that had everything work out perfectly in their favour.
The Lindop had a couple of promising fillies fighting out the finish, but the stronger of these, Party Princess, has since suffered a foot abscess. It’s not the sort of timing you like heading into a Group 1 race.
This year, it may well pay to look elsewhere for the winner, and in a year where there is no stand-out at all in a very even betting race, value may be the order of the day.
