This Saturday, December 18th, Randwick Racecourse in Sydney is set to host one of the final Group races of the year when the $175,000 Group 2 Villiers Stakes (1600m) lights up the track.
The 2010 Inglis Villiers Stakes has drawn a final field of 18 gallopers making for a top-class showdown to enjoy a punt on before Christmas through Luxbet!
The top-rated entry in this year’s Villiers Stakes is the Chris Waller-trained Snow Alert, the classy Red Ransom five-year-old set to jump from barrier 12 with Glyn Schofield aboard in their first start since finishing seventh in the Group 1 Emirates Stakes (1600m) during the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
Leading local trainer Waller also has Altered Boy racing on Saturday, the Danehill Dancer gelding coming off a narrow win over 1400m at Rosehill last weekend.
Two of the early favourites in the Villiers Stakes betting have suffered blows with wide barrier draws as Macknuckle and Stratofortress came up with gates 13 and 14 respectively.
Six-year-old galloper Macknuckle is coming off an impressive win in the Canberra Cup (2000m), while the Gai Waterhouse-trained Stratofortress is still likely to gain plenty of attention from the punters as the Newcastle Gold Cup winner is coming off a gallant second in the Listed Festival Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill on December 4.
The horse that beat Stratofortress in the Festival Stakes, Peter Snowden’s Dysphonia, is also backing up in the Villiers Stakes on Saturday.
Lonhro mare Dysphonia has drawn well with barrier eight and is an excellent light-weight chance set to carry 54kg.
Snowden will also be represented by eight-year-old Octagonal gelding Spinney and in-form four-year-old Parthian drawn ideally in barrier two in the Villiers Stakes.
Other notable horses in the 2010 Villiers Stakes field include Paul Perry’s consistent Danasinga gelding Southern Skye coming off a third place finish in the Festival Stakes, drawn well in barrier three and ideally weighted with just 52kg; the Gerald Ryan-trained Anabaa mare Dances On Waves coming off back-to-back wins in Sydney; and Anthony Cummings’ in-form Encosta De Lago gelding Rhythm Of Dance seeking their fourth win on the trot and given a huge advantage dropping back from 58kg last start to 52kg on Saturday.
The 2010 Inglis Villiers Stakes is scheduled to run as Race 6 at Randwick on Saturday, jumping at 4:25pm (local NSW time), while the day’s other highlight will be Race 7 the $100,000 Listed Razor Sharp Handicap (1200m) at 5:05pm (local NSW time).
For the best Randwick betting markets and odds avoid the TAB and take five minutes to open an account with the Tabcorp-owned online bookie Luxbet!
2010 Villiers Stakes Final Field, Barrier Draw & Weights
| # | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight (kg) | Hcp. Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SNOW ALERT | Chris Waller | Glyn Schofield | 12 | 58 | 100 |
| 2 | ALTERED BOY | Chris Waller | Hugh Bowman | 9 | 57.5 | 99 |
| 3 | MACKNUCKLE | Bernie Howlett | Brendan Ward | 13 | 57.5 | 99 |
| 4 | STRATOFORTRESS (NZ) | Gai Waterhouse | Nash Rawiller | 14 | 57.5 | 99 |
| 5 | SPINNEY | Peter Snowden | – | 6 | 56 | 96 |
| 6 | ADNOCON | Gerald Ryan | Jim Byrne | 4 | 55.5 | 95 |
| 7 | MENTALITY | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | Josh Adams (a) | 18 | 55.5 | 95 |
| 8 | PARTHIAN | Peter Snowden | – | 2 | 55 | 94 |
| 9 | DYSPHONIA | Peter Snowden | – | 8 | 54 | 96 |
| 10 | EMPEROR BONAPARTE (NZ) | David Payne | – | 1 | 54 | 92 |
| 11 | DELTONA | Kevin Moses | – | 5 | 53 | 90 |
| 12 | MIRRASALO | Paul Messara | Daniel Ganderton | 15 | 52 | 90 |
| 13 | DELAGO STAR | Kim Waugh | – | 10 | 52 | 88 |
| 14 | SOUTHERN SKYE | Paul Perry | Nathan Berry (a) | 3 | 52 | 85 |
| 15 | LANG (NZ) | Gwenda Markwell | Taylor Lovelock-Wiggins (a) | 16 | 52 | 82 |
| 16 | CULLEN CASTLE | Garry White | – | 11 | 52 | 81 |
| 17 | DANCES ON WAVES | Gerald Ryan | Brenton Avdulla (a) | 17 | 52 | 81 |
| 18 | RHYTHM OF DANCE | Anthony Cummings | Tim Clark | 7 | 52 | 80 |
