Gytrash remains the firm favourite in The Goodwood 2020 betting for the feature race of the weekend taking place at Morphettville Racecourse.
Local star Gytrash heads 2020 The Goodwood betting at Morphettville this weekend. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.
A class line-up of 15 sprinters face off in Saturday’s Group 1 $400,000 The Goodwood (1200m) with the punters’ elect, the local Gordon Richards-trained Gytrash, drawn out in barrier 12.
The wide alley hasn’t stopped the money coming for the ultra-consistent Lope De Vega entire, the four-year-old the surprising star of the autumn in Melbourne.
The chestnut was at big odds fresh when winning the Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning (1000m) at Flemington in mid-February and franked the form when third in the Newmarket and second in the William Reid Stakes.
After a brief freshen-up, Gytrash returned home for a runaway three length win in the Group 3 RN Irwin Stakes (1100m) at Morphettville and is now tipped to salute again back up in grade taking on the interstate raiders.
Following his outstanding Group 1 runs in Victoria and the ease of his lead-up win, Gytrash is at $3.60 in The Goodwood odds at Ladbrokes.com.au.
The dangers at $7 and $7.50 respectively in betting are fellow Group 1 champs Santa Ana Lane and Trekking.
The Anthony Freedman-trained seven-year-old is another son of Lope De Vega, the gelding looking to add to his impressive $7.7 million in stakes.
He races in his third The Goodwood field having run fifth to Vega Magic in 2017 before taking out the classic in 2018 and then winning Brisbane’s Stradbroke Handicap at his next start.
Santa Ana Lane missed last year’s The Goodwood with connections instead opting to take him overseas when fourth in Hong Kong’s Group 1 Chairman’s Sprint (1200m) at Sha Tin on the back of his Sydney Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) success that year.
His form back in Australia since has been good including a second behind Yes Yes Yes in the $14 million The Everest last October and a more recent second when looking to go back-to-back in the TJ Smith Stakes.
Last time out the evergreen veteran was stretched out to 1400m for Randwick’s Group 1 All Aged Stakes on April 18 finishing a credible sixth, the drop back to his pet distance to suit this weekend.
Last year’s Stradbroke winner Trekking meanwhile is the early The Goodwood betting market mover after being offered as long as $9 before a plunge for the James Cummings-trained Street Cry five-year-old.
Drawn well just better than midfield in gate six with last weekend’s SA Derby winning hoop John Allen in the saddle, Trekking is third-up on Saturday having his first run at the Morphettville track.
After a first-up seventh in the TJ Smith, he improved in easier grade under a big weight (60kg) when runner-up in the Group 3 Hall Mark Stakes (1200m) on All Aged Stakes Day.
Better suited with 58.5kg in The Goodwood, Trekking looks a genuine top three chance again as he was when third in last year’s The Everest and second in the Redzel Stakes.
The big drifter in The Goodwood betting out from $6.50 to $9 is the Patrick Payne-trained The Inevitable with the outside alley (15) to overcome.
The Dundeel four-year-old was in great form during his early spring prep last year before he failed to run a strong 1500m backing up out of his Silver Eagle (1300m) win at Randwick to run 12th to Kolding in the $7.5 million The Golden Eagle.
Seemingly outclassed down the straight at HQ this March when eighth to Bivouac in the Newmarket Handicap, The Inevitable was last seen running second at the same track over 1000m on ANZAC Day.
He drops in weight and the 1200m is probably his best distance, but whether he can handle the class of his rivals in The Goodwood 2020 remains to be seen.
Platelet (2013) was the last The Goodwood winning mare and this season the last of the single-figure hopefuls is Sunlight ($9) looking to beat home the boys.
Tony & Calvin McEvoy’s smart daughter of Zoustar chases her first win since defeating Santa Ana Lane at Flemington last October in the Group 2 Gilgai Stakes (1200m).
She finished her spring when 10th in The Everest and second in The Golden Eagle and has had two runs this time in.
First-up at Morphettville she was runner-up to Gytrash in the RN Irwin as the beaten favourite before things went amiss for her in last Saturday’s Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m).
Never in the mix from her wide alley (14 of 16), she faded to finish dead last but returns just a week later at the same track and distance seeking atonement as a third-up specialist with the blinkers coming on.
Click here to view the full The Goodwood 2020 betting markets at Ladbrokes.com.au.
