James McDonald will be out to redeem his slippery grip on the world’s best jockey title aboard Anamoe in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes against Tom Marquand, who holds a unanimous decision over him in a similar bout.
Marquand showed the power reminiscent of a young Lester Piggott aboard Addeybb when he out-punched J-Mac in the corresponding 2021 chapter on the gutsy Verry Elleegant, which always snuffled a battle with delight.
Tom Marquand and Addeybb beat James McDonald and Verry Elleegant to the line in the 2021 Queen Elizabeth Stakes.Credit: Getty
J-Mac comes from the eight gate today, one inside Marquand on fellow Pom invader Dubai Honour, in a battle of tactics that highlights what promises to be another great program, albeit on a water-logged circuit.
Perhaps the conditions took the edge off J-Mac mounts last Saturday where he rode four favourites – Sequestered ($2.10), Talbragar ($4), Cylinder ($2.70) and Nature Strip ($4.80) plus equal favourite Benaud ($7) – for only one placegetter (Talbragar).
Sequestered, Cylinder, and Nature Strip were noted mud-runners but didn’t fire last Saturday in conditions where others grew a fin, particularly winners Arts, Sizzle Minizzle, and Militarize, which were a cumulative 15 lengths behind the winner at their previous starts.
Maybe the Randwick wet could work for the local idol Anamoe, although Dubai Honour was favoured with a doctored surface with plenty of moisture when he scored so impressively at his Australian debut in the Ranvet at Rosehill.
Anamoe took the George Ryder last time out after a wide passage that normally would be a drawback but might have been beneficial on the controversial Rosehill surface.
Racing.com ratings expert Daniel O’Sullivan gave Dubai Honour “an elite 108 performance” for the Ranvet, “three lengths faster than the standard through every 200 metre section of the final 800 metres, a level of speed our current wfa horses can’t come close to matching … [and] 1.5 lengths superior to Anamoe’s 105.8 in the last Cox Plate”. But can he repeat the Ranvet performance at Randwick?
Due to the results last Saturday, some punters consider playing outside of yesterday’s equal $2.50 favourites Anamoe and Dubai Honour.
The odds look skinny, especially considering the unknown quality of Unicorn Lion and the worldwide impact of Japanese horses over the last 12 months.
Yes, the class mare Montfelia was donkey-licked by Dubai Honour in the Ranvet but beaten by the track, and she stumbled at the 500 metres due to wear and tear when second to Arapaho in Rosehill’s Tancred.
Nash Rawiller, too, could be looking for something spectacular on Mo’unga. Recall his way out expertise on Think It Over in the Queen Elizabeth last year.
Navigation should also play a role in what promises to be a gruelling Sydney Cup over 3200 metres on a surface chopped up by six previous big fields.
J-Mac on Gold Trip gets the opportunity to stimulate the Melbourne Cup form of the import lacking in recent Sydney starts.
Of course, figures didn’t play out last Saturday:, when weights and measures succumbed to handling the slush, but Rachel King on Arapaho (handicapped to advantage) is appealing.
King won the Sydney Cup last year on Knight’s Order.
Power more than finesse came to the fore with Joe Moreira on Surefire in the Chairman’s Handicap at Randwick last Saturday. Surefire, which is a live prospect again today according to Winning Post, “dug deepest” to triumph.
Moreira exceeded the whip limit to the 100 metres by six strikes. Stewards didn’t think it mattered. I disagree.
