The nominations are out for the Black Caviar Lightning 2017 running at Flemington Racecourse on Saturday and a host of top-level three-year-olds dominate the early entries for the sprint.

Returning Coolmore Stud Stakes winner Flying Artie is one of the key 2017 Black Caviar Lightning Stakes nominees for Flemington this weekend. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

Continuing the elite level Melbourne Autumn Racing Carnival action, this weekend’s $750,000 Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning (1000m) attracted 16 nominations.

Of those two of the three three-year-olds in the mix dominate futures Black Caviar Lightning betting at Ladbrokes.com.au with Star Turn ($4) and Flying Artie ($5) the early favourites.

No three-year-old has won the Lightning Stakes since Fastnet Rock back in 2005, but the bookies are taking no chances with this season’s crop of gun young sprinters.

Star Witness colt Star Turn is trained by Team Hawkes who prepared last year’s Black Caviar Lightning winner Chautauqua (2016).

Co-trainer John Hawkes also won the race back in 2001 with Sports and looks to have a livewire chance to break the three-year-olds’ hoodoo in the Black Caviar Lightning results this season.

Star Turn is a dual Group winner and was last seen running third at Flemington on Derby Day in the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m).

He was beaten just over a length by Flying Artie and has won a subsequent Rosehill trial ahead of his return.

The Coolmore Stud Stakes winner Flying Artie will be out to kick-off where he left-off in the winners’ stall also engaged for a first-up run in the Black Caviar Lightning Stakes field.

He has won three of his six career starts to date and trialled well at Cranbourne on February 7 before his campaign start where he is out to add to his smart record fresh (3-2-1-0).

The other three-year-old nominated for the short-distance clash is the Robbie Laing-trained filly Missrock who ran fifth in the Crown Oaks last time out.

Occupying the third line of the all-in Black Caviar Lightning odds following the three-year-olds closely on $6 is the returning Bryce Heys-trained Thorn Park four-year-old Spieth.

The consistent stallion has had nine runs to date for five wins and two seconds and was last seen narrowly defeated by Malaguerra for a second in the Group 1 Darley Classic (1200m) on November 5.

Third in the same Melbourne Cup Carnival classic Fell Swoop is also among this year’s Black Caviar Lightning nominations.

Canberra’s Matthew Dale trains the Not A Single Doubt five-year-old who has stellar form over the 1000m distance with four wins and a second from six starts, plus the consistent spring that included two Group 1 placings.

Locally-trained Lonhro mare Heatherly and the Joe Pride-trained Terravista shape-up as other key Black Caviar Lightning Stakes nominees

Four-year-old Heatherly was last seen running second to Extreme Choice in the Group 1 Moir Stakes (1000m) at Moonee Valley last September.

She has won a subsequent trial finishing ahead of Flying Artie in the Cranbourne hit-out, is another 1000m specialist (8-3-3-2) and also ran the brave third under a length off the winner Flamberge in the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate (1100m) at Caulfield last autumn.

Veteran Captain Rio seven-year-old Terravista was last seen running 10^th in Perth’s Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) and is out to go one better than his devastatingly close second behind Chautauqua in the Black Caviar Lightning quinella 12 months ago.

Check out the full 2017 Black Caviar Lightning Nominations bellow with futures markets on the Group 1 sprint available at Ladbrokes.com.au – home of Odds Boost (T&Cs apply).

2017 Black Caviar Lightning Nominations

Flemington Racecourse – 18/02/2017