The last time James Cummings had three group 1 favourites on the same day for Godolphin, the boys in blue came away without a winner, which has the trainer philosophical about Anamoe, Barber and In Secret heading into Saturday.
“They don’t give you group 1s, you have to have the right horse and then get the right run. Being a favourite isn’t any guarantee,” Cummings said. “I had Alizee, Kementari and Hartnell start favourite on Caulfield Guineas day a few years and none of them ended up winning. It was deflating.
Cox Plate winner Anamoe will look for an eighth group 1 success in the Chipping Norton Stakes at Randwick on Saturday.Credit:Racing Photos
“We are very happy with our horses for Saturday and they’ve earned their places as favourites. We can’t do much more with them than having them right and ready to go. But we saw the weekend with Aft Cabin, luck in running is so important.”
Cummings chalked up his 100th winner for the season on Saturday with a winning treble, but it is stakes races and group 1s where he measures his success.
Anamoe will look to add to his seven group 1 wins as an odds-on favourite for the Chipping Norton Stakes at Randwick on Saturday and will be better served at the mile.
“He is just flying at home and he will step up again,” Cummings said.
Godolphin will fly Hong Kong-based Hugh Bowman in to ride In Secret in the Surround Stakes with Nash Rawiller suspended, and it’s the race that has been earmarked as a target since the spring.
“It is a group 1, so to get Hugh to come back from Hong Kong and ride her was important for us,” Cummings said. “This race was the logical goal for her after she won the Coolmore Stud Stakes, and we have prepared her to be at her best for Saturday.”
Any group 1 victory on Saturday will take Cummings past his best season at the top level. This may be the strongest team he has had while at Godolphin.
He has the best horse in the country, Anamoe, the most exciting three-year-old, In Secret, and the two-year-old ranks are extremely deep. Cylinder won the Silver Slipper on Saturday and unbeaten Golden Gift winner Barber leads the charge into the Blue Diamond with Zulfiqar and Exploring also heading to Sandown.
Cummings will also have Zapeteo in the Oakleigh Plate on Saturday.
Icebath set for final campaign before Chairman’s Sale
Tough mare Icebath will look to finish her career with another group 1 in the Doncaster, a race that has defined her career. She will then be sold at the Inglis Chairman’s Sale in May.
The Sacred Falls mare finally got her group 1 in the Empire Rose Stakes during the spring to go with her five placings at the top level, including a second and third in the Doncaster.
“We are looking forward to her racing through the autumn and hope she can get to the Doncaster, where she has unfinished business,” owner David McGrath said.
“She is such a competitor and has a rare determination and closing speed which few horses possess. We think there is at least another win left in her.
“She is likely to run at 1400m in the Guy Walter Stakes on Saturday, which is the perfect preparation to get her back to the Doncaster.
“She is such a valuable broodmare, we have to sell her for the next phase of her career.”
Magic Millions winner sweet on the Golden Slipper
Queensland trainer Tony Gollan is looking forward to the next test for Magic Millions winner Skirt The Law in Saturday’s Sweet Embrace Stakes, where he expects her to confirm her Golden Slipper credentials.
The unbeaten filly is an $8 Golden Slipper chance and Gollan wants to give her a three-week lead into the world’s richest two-year-old race.
“Every time she has had to prove herself she has, and I think she has improved again from the Magic Millions,” Gollan said. “We chose this lead-up because it gives her a chance to freshen up before the Slipper.
“The Magic Millions form has stood up in the past couple of weeks. We want to see her do it again on Saturday because we will not go there to make up the numbers in the [Golden] Slipper, but I’m confident she will go to another level.”
