Jerome Hunter will be out to deliver a second Sydney shock from the Mornington Peninsula as Barb Raider returns to the track in The Invitation at Randwick on Saturday.
Everest winner Giga Kick has his home down the road from Hunter’s small operation, and Hunter was delighted to see success for fellow trainer Clayton Douglas last weekend.
Crag Williams and Jerome Hunter with Barb Raider after winning the Kewney Stakes in the autumn.Credit:Getty
“I cheered it like it was my own,” Hunter admitted about Giga Kick. “A lot of people down here have had a spring to their step this week because of Giga Kick, and hopefully Barb Raider can do something similar.
“We wanted to focus on Sydney with her this spring. This race and the Golden Eagle were my targets after she finished a bit later than most up in Brisbane.
“It’s a two-race spring for her, but we are running for big money and I believe we have the right horse.”
Hunter has planned to be at this Randwick meeting since Barb Raider left Brisbane as a three-time group 1 classic placegetter.
Barb Raider winning the Newmarket Handicap.Credit:Getty
But it was a long wait for the invitation to arrive.
“I saw this race and thought we should get an invite and being 1400m with some residual fitness from Queensland, I thought it was perfect,” Hunter said.
“But as the race got nearer, and I didn’t hear anything, I thought we are going to miss out, and I might have to run in Melbourne, instead for the $2 million.
“But once they asked I said yes immediately because I feel she is sharp enough at 1400m to be a factor and talking to Craig Williams, he has always said she will be a miler in time.”
Surprisingly, Barb Raider is the $31 outsider for The Invitation, even though she won the Vanity at 1400m first-up in the autumn. She then added another two group 2 wins and runner-up finishes in the Australasian Oaks and Queensland Oaks.
“You stretch out these good fillies because the Oaks is where the group 1s are and in the end, she was probably just run to a better stayer on both occasions,” Hunter said.
“We have planned to be here, and she will be sharp. The only worry would be a real heavy track because that was the only time missed a place last prep – at Randwick in the Queen Of The Turf.
“Craig [Williams] said she was never happy on that real heavy ground and looked after herself a bit that day.”
Hunter has also taken the opportunity to bring the talented Thron Bone, which took the two-year-old honours in the Melbourne winter, for the Brian Crowley Stakes. Apprentice Will Price will ride them.
The son of Thronum was a late starter as a two-year-old but was able to win the Next Gen Sprinter Final on Winter Championship day at Flemington, which is building a tradition of throwing up good horses.
“That was a big thrill with him and when Barb Raider was coming to Sydney, this race stuck out to me as a good place for him to start,” Hunter said. “He has had more of freshen-up than a spell after he was beaten only 4¾ lengths by Giga Kick in the Vain Stakes, which reads well now.
“He has been quite sharp in jump-outs and Will has been on him for all his wins, so when Craig [Williams] was riding at the Cox Plate, it was easy to stick with someone who knows both of them.”
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