It is a small but top-class field gathered for the Regal Roller Stakes 2020 at Caulfield Racecourse on Saturday with betting on the early spring lead-up led by Godolphin’s Bletchingly Stakes champ Viridine.
Viridine is tipped as the sprinter to beat in Saturday’s Regal Roller Stakes at Caulfield. Photo: Steve Hart.
Just nine gallopers line-up in this season’s Listed $140,000 Regal Roller Stakes (1200m) on P.B. Lawrence Stakes Day in 2020, but the field includes multiple Group 1 winners and already shapes-up as a form race to follow as the Group 1 features approach.
The James Cummings-trained Viridine sits top of the latest Regal Roller Stakes odds at $3.10 through Ladbrokes.com.au coming into the race having won two of his past three starts.
Two back the Poet’s Voice six-year-old ran second in the wet behind ace mudlark Jungle Edge in the Group 3 Sir John Monash Stakes.
He was quick to improve on a Good (4) track back at Caulfield on July 25 defeating Group 1 Futurity Stakes winner Streets Of Avalon, who races in the Group 2 $200,000 P.B. Lawrence Stakes (1400m) on Saturday, in the Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes (1200m).
The Bletchingly Stakes form was franked last weekend by the third-placed Great Again who ran second behind Home Of The Brave in the Group 3 Aurie’s Star Handicap at Flemington.
Now the money is on Viridine to do the same and post back-to-back victories at the track despite going up in weight to a hefty 62kg in the Regal Roller.
In an open Regal Roller Stakes betting market, a further four of the runners are also under $10 for the win including the rails-drawn Age Of Chivalry ($4.80).
A dual Group 1 placegetter at the track last spring, including the Toorak Handicap when third to Fierce Impact, Age Of Chivalry returns from a spell.
His last start saw him cross just a half-length back third over 1400m in a Group 3 at Flemington in late February, the son of He’s Remarkable still lightly raced having his 14th start for his debut as a five-year-old on Saturday.
The defending Regal Roller Stakes winner Begood Toya Mother ($6.50) is the next best in betting, the Daniel Bowman-trained galloper returning after three disappointing autumn runs.
He carries 61.5kg, up from just 54kg for his win last season, having been penalised in the weights as a subsequent Group 1 winner in the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes last September.
Robert Hickmott’s last start Flemington winner Bumper Blast ($5.50) and the equal 62kg topweight with Viridine, the aforementioned evergreen 10-year-old Jungle Edge ($9.50), round out the single-figure chances.
Another Group 1 winner in the mix representing potential value is Miami Bound ($13), Danny O’Brien’s VRC Oaks winner set to improve on whatever she does fresh going up in distance over her campaign.
Click here for the latest Regal Roller Stakes 2020 odds online thanks to Ladbrokes.com.au.
2020 Regal Roller Stakes Field
| No | Last 10 | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | Penalty | Hcp Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | x133010517 | JUNGLE EDGE | Mick Bell | Ms Jade Darose | 6 | 62kg | 107 | |
| 2 | 017×454121 | VIRIDINE | James Cummings | Mark Zahra | 2 | 62kg | 107 | |
| 3 | 1x161x777x | BEGOOD TOYA MOTHER | Daniel Bowman | Declan Bates | 5 | 61.5kg | 106 | |
| 4 | x710x38156 | REYKJAVIK | Lindsey Smith | Michael Rodd | 9 | 60kg | 103 | |
| 5 | 09x5145x0x | TSHAHITSI | Imogen Miller | Ben Melham | 3 | 59.5kg | 102 | |
| 6 | x51123x63x | AGE OF CHIVALRY (NZ) | Mathew Ellerton & Simon Zahra | Damian Lane | 1 | 59kg | 101 | |
| 7 | 113411x84x | MIAMI BOUND (NZ) | Danny O’Brien | Damien Oliver | 7 | 58kg | 103 | |
| 8 | 611517×1 | BUMPER BLAST (NZ) | Robert Hickmott | Craig Williams | 8 | 56kg | 88 | |
| 9 | 1x00x30915 | SHE SHAO FLY | Kevin Corstens | Dwayne Dunn | 4 | 56kg | 80 |
*Table Credit: Racing Australia.
