By Michael Guerin
General Jen may have to go to a new peak to win the biggest race of her career this Friday but she has been gifted the draw to do it.
The Canterbury three-year-old filly made quite the Alexandra Park debut when smashing her older rivals last Friday night and now steps back in against her own sex in the $200,000 Magness Benrow Sires’ Stakes Final back at The Park this Friday.
She meets a red hot field containing Beside Me, Northern Oaks winner (and Hayden and Amanda Cullen-trained stablemate) Arafura and last season’s Sires’ Stakes Final winner Captains Mistress.
Winelight and Without You add to the form depth in the race with the biggest “out” being Stella Rouge.
“She didn’t have an ideal prep for the Oaks last start but she was still very brave so we have put her aside to concentrate on the back end of the season,” said the latter’s co-trainer Steve Telfer.
Even without that high quality northern filly the Group 1 is one of the hottest races of the season so far and General Jen got the early advantage of barrier 2 for the mobile 2200m.
That puts her inside Beside Me (barrier 3), Without You (6) and Winelight (8) and in front of Captains Mistress (1 second line) and Arafura (2 second line).
Beside Me is certain to open favourite but the market will be an interesting one for the TAB bookies to price as all the big names can’t be short.
The barrier draw wasn’t quite so crucial to the market for Friday’s other Group 1, the $120,000 IRT Sires’ Stakes Trot for the three-year-olds as favourite Meant To Be is still unruly.
His stablemate Higher Power gets barrier 2 over the 2200m mobile but the fillies Habibti Pat (6), Frazzled (7) and Ya Rite Darl (9) have not fared so well.
Later in the night the $40,000 Classique Landscapers North Island Mares Trot Championship sees a rare Alexandra Park race with a sole front marker, with an equally rare case of half the 10-strong field being off a 30m handicap.
At Addington the $60,000 Continental Event Hire Superstars looks set to be hectic with on-pace speedsters like Beach Ball (1) and Rakero Rocket (5) drawn to go forward in a 2600m mobile with some very hard running horses.
The Addington meeting also sees Marketplace return home and he will use the $50,000 Garrards Sires Stakes Semi Final to prepare for next week’s Final and as a heat winner he has to start from the outside of the front line.
That disadvantage is somewhat negated by main rival Got The Chocolates drawing the second line.
To see the Auckland fields click here
To see the Addington fields click here
