Chris Waller’s first-up Doomben 10,000 winner Boban has been allocated the 58kg top weight for Saturday week’s Stradbroke Handicap 2015 in Brisbane but is far from a guaranteed acceptor in the lucrative sprint classic.

Chris Waller’s Doomben 10,000 winner Boban is allocated the 2015 Stradbroke Handicap top weight for June 6 at Doomben. Photo: Daniel Costello.

Held this year at Doomben Racecourse with Eagle Farm under reconstruction, the $2 million Group 1 AAMI Stradbroke Handicap (1350m) is Queensland’s richest race and there are officially 112 nominees still in the mix.

Heading the ballot and now weights, released by Racing Queensland on Monday morning, is Bernardini five-year-old Boban who posted his fifth Group 1 win when Waller resumed him in last weekend’s Group 1 Doomben 10,000 (1350m).

While more than pleased with the 10,000 result, Waller was hesitant to confirm Boban for a Stradbroke Handicap bid knowing the galloper would receive the top weight for the June 6 showdown.

Instead the master trainer, who still has a strong hand of other Straddie hopes, could save the horse for a spring return later in the year.

Three other horses are equal first on the Stradbroke Handicap ballot including the Peter & Paul Snowden-trained Hot Snitzel (55.5kg) who scored an upset Group 1 BTC Cup (1200m) win at Doomben on May 9.

He carried 58.5kg to victory that day as a 26-1 outsider in betting and is another galloper yet to be confirmed for a Stradbroke bid chasing back-to-back Group 1 wins.

Ahead of him in the weights though are four gallopers weighted on 56 – 56.kg including the Darren Weir-trained Trust In A Gust (56.5kg).

The Keep The Faith stallion enjoyed two Melbourne Group 1 wins over 1400m and 1600m respectively at Caulfield during the spring before a first-up second at Caulfield on April 18, the four-year-old not seen since.

Then on 56kg each are the defending champ River Lad who would be after successive Stradbroke Handicap wins for the first time since Black Piranha (2009-10), Phillip Stokes’ visiting Adelaide raider Hucklebuck who won the Group 1 Emirates Stakes (1600m) at Flemington in the spring before a disappointing first-up 12^th at home in The Goodwood and Weir’s other Group 1 winner Lucky Hussler who won Moonee Valley’s William Reid Stakes back in late March.

The next heaviest weighted on 55kg each, which River Lad carried to victory in the race last Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival, are then the Peter Moody-trained Flamberge and Tony Pike’s Kiwi raider Sacred Star.

Moody’s Exceed And Excel gelding had form around super sprinter Chautauqua in Melbourne in the early autumn and franked that in Adelaide on May 16 winning the Group 1 The Goodwood (1200m) at a juicy $31 price.

He currently pays $21 through Ladbrokes.com.au in their all-in Stradbroke Handicap odds to bring that form to Brisbane in a fortnight.

Sacred Star meanwhile comes off a first-up fifth to Boban in the Doomben 10,000, the Flying Spur gelding having won back-to-back Group 1s back home in New Zealand at the start of the year.

Current favourite in the Stradbroke Handicap betting markets at a quote of $7 are two in-form fillies including Lumosty who won the Listed The Straight Six (1200m) in impressive fashion at Flemington last weekend.

The Robert Smerdon-trained flyer will be looking to join Sincero (2011), Sniper’s Bullet (2007) and La Montagna (2006) as the other three-year-old Stradbroke Handicap winners in the past 10 years if accepted and gets in on a lovely 50.5kg light weight.

Also at $7 for the win in the Gai Waterhouse-trained Najoom who won the Fred Best Classic on the weekend but who is not currently nominated for the Stradbroke, a late entry fee needing to be paid by connections to get her into the field.

Other three-year-old Stradbroke hopes and their weight allocations include the Paul Messara-trained Scissor Kick (52.5kg), the Waller-trained Arrowfield Sprint winner Delectation (52kg) and Joe Pride’s Mick Dittman winning Denman colt Kuro (51.5kg).

Aside from the two aforementioned fillies the other two single figure hopes in the latest Stradbroke odds at $9 each are The Goodwood fourth placed Black Heart Bart and Doomben 10,000 third placed Lonhro gelding Generalife allocated 53.5kg and 54.5kg respectively.

Other notable hopes and their weights include Peter & Paul Snowden’s Doomben 10,000 runner-up Charlie Boy (54kg) and Moody’s smart three-year-old filly Bring Me The Maid (50.5kg) out to atone for her ninth in the 10,000 where the daughter of Sebring found the Good (4) track too firm for her liking.

Check out the full Stradbroke Handicap 2015 weights below then visit Ladbrokes.com.au to get behind your early picks at the best odds before markets firm over the fortnight!

2015 Stradbroke Handicap Weight

Doomben Racecourse – 06/06/2015