The 2015 Brisbane Winter Carnival comes alive at Doomben on Saturday with the running of the first Group 1 of the Carnival, the $650,000 Doomben Cup over 2000m on Cup Carnivale Day.
The first day of the four day Doomben Carnival also features the running of the Group 1 weight for age $500,000 BTC Cup over 1200m for the sprinters.
The ‘First Lady Of The Australian Turf’ Gai Waterhouse is always a big carnival player and will be at Doomben on Saturday to saddle up the favourite for the weight for age Doomben Cup, French import Pornichet.
Waterhouse took Pornichet to Toowoomba last weekend after missing out on a run in the Group 2 A.D. Hollindale Stakes (1800m) at the Gold Coast the previous week and the four year old did the job with a one length win in the Toowoomba Cup (2150m).
That win promoted Pornichet to the top of the Doomben Cup market order here at Ladbrokes and after opening at $4.50 when the final field was released on Wednesday, the flashy stallion quickly firmed into $4.20.
Blake Shinn takes over from Timothy Bell on Pornichet and the top Sydney jockey will have no trouble finding a handy spot near the front from barrier four.
2014 Doomben Cup runner up Leebaz showed that he was ready to make another serious attempt at winning the Doomben Cup with a last start win in the A.D. Hollindale Stakes.
Top local jockey Jim Byrne was on top at the Gold Coast and gets the ride again here and will probably go forward from barrier eleven.
Leebaz, who is prepared by Wayne, Michael and John Hawkes at Rosehill, is set to challenge Pornichet for favouritism and has firmed slightly from $5.50 to $5 since acceptance time.
I’m Imposing showed that he has found form at the right time with an eye catching third to Leebaz in the A.D. Hollindale Stakes and is the most fancied of Chris Waller’s five runners in the market order at around $8.
Waller’s other Doomben Cup runners are Group 1 winners Foreteller, Moriarty and Hawkspur plus the grey five year old Weary.
The connections of grand Kiwi mare Silent Achiever are hoping the multiple Group 1 winner can go out on a winning note after it was hinted early in the week that the O’Reilly mare could be heading to the breeding barn after the Doomben Cup.
Silent Achiever was a disappointing eighth to Leebaz at the Gold Coast and subsequently was found to be suffering from colic but Cambridge trainer Roger James has reported that she has fully recovered and impressed in track work during the week.
Silent Achiever is well in the betting and has had some support at $8.50 and is just shading the Peter and Paul Snowden’s mare Gypsy Diamond who is also under double figures.
2012 Melbourne Cup winner Green Moon will carry the number one saddlecloth but looks set to have another tough run after drawing barrier fourteen in the fifteen horse field.
Green Moon will strip fitter for two runs this campaign and showed some improvement last start when sixth in the A.D. Hollindale Stakes after jumping from the outside gate and is listed around the $20 mark.