Chris Waller’s European import Mister Sea Wolf is the early market mover firming in the Festival Stakes 2017 odds for his Australian race debut in Sydney on Saturday.
Jockey Tim Clark (pictured aboard I Am Zelady) rides the Chris Waller-trained import Mister Sea Wolf in Sydney’s Festival Stakes 2017. Photo: Steve Hart.
There are 10 runners still in the mix for the Group 3 $150,000 Festival Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill Gardens following the early scratching of Chalk (9).
Four of the hopefuls are under $10 for the win in the latest Festival Stakes betting markets at Ladbrokes.com.au including Mister Sea Wolf who has been heavily backed early in from $8 to $5.
Drawn in gate four with Tim Clark booked for the ride, Amadeus Wolf six-year-old Mister Sea Wolf has gained attention with the Aussie punters after a nice Rosehill trial on November 24.
Tye Angland rode the miler to a third behind To Excess and Good Project over 1030m in that hit-out and on 54.5kg in the Festival Stakes, the bookies are taking no chances with the well-weighted unknown.
Cabeza De Vaca remains favourite in the Festival Stakes odds this summer, the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained Northern Meteor six-year-old looking to extend his winning streak to six on the trot.
He is up in weight but impressed at the track on November 18 winning the November Handicap (1400m), his impressive lead-up record and good gate speed making him a hard-to-beat favourite.
“He is a very, very tough horse,” Waterhouse said of Cabeza De Vaca speaking to The Daily Telegraph this week.
“I can’t fault him. I don’t think any horse in the stable is going better and his work this week has been exemplary. He is absolutely spot on.”
The other $5 second elect along with Mister Sea Wolf meanwhile is the James Cummings-trained Godolphin galloper Federal in gate three with Angland aboard.
Yet another well-backed six-year-old in the mix, the son of Medaglia D’Oro comes off a third to Cabeza De Vaca in the November Handicap and actually gets the weight advantage coming back from 57.5kg to 55.5kg for the rematch.
Mighty Lucky, who won the same race back in 2015, is the other single-figure runner backed in from $10 to $9.50 to return to winning form for Gosford trainer Fred Cowell.
The Casino Prince eight-year-old has been racing well over the spring, but hasn’t won since May of 2016.
He took out the Festival Stakes – Summer Cup double two years ago and his jockey over the past couple of years since Chris O’Brien believes the old warhorse is back to his best.
“He is back to his old self this preparation and even though the form doesn’t read that good on paper he is going really well,” O’Brien told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“He is just that tough, honest horse and that’s what we are seeing again.
“His last couple of preparations there was something wrong and no one could really work it out.”
See below for the latest Festival Stakes 2017 odds courtesy of Ladbrokes.com.au.
