Sydney’s premier trainer Chris Waller again provides multiple runners in a Sydney Spring Carnival feature and will saddle up four horses, Beaten Up, Junoob, Opinion and Beyond Thankful, in the Group 1 $750,000 McGrath Estate Agents Metropolitan (2400m) at Randwick on Saturday.
Topweight Beaten Up heads the quartet of Waller runners and has been listed as an $8 chance with Ladbrokes’ bookies on the back of a solid last start fourth to stablemate Preferment in the Group 2 $200,000 Hill Stakes (2000m) at Randwick a fortnight ago.
The English import is the winner of the 2013 Group 1 $500,000 Doomben Cup (2000m) at Doomben and has overcome a severe leg injury to be on his way back to his best.
Top Sydney jockey Glyn Schofield will be able to give Beaten Up the run of the race from barrier two.
Beyond Thankful, another one of Waller’s European imports, has been in winning form around the Provincials with wins in the Listed $150,000 Wyong Cup (2080m) at Wyong on September 4 and in the Group 3 $175,000 Newcastle Cup (2300m) at Newcastle on September 18.
Even though the six year old gelding has drawn the outside gate, he has come in for some early support and has firmed in from $13 to $11 while Junoob, barrier three, has also had plenty of inquiries and has shortened up from an opening quote of $15 to be a $12 chance with the prospect of the track drying out for Saturday.
Last year’s Metropolitan winner Opinion was beaten less than three lengths at his latest outing when eleventh in the Hill Stakes and is the longest priced Waller runner at $21.
The John O’Shea trained Magic Hurricane finished off his last start in fine style when second in the Hill Stakes and has been installed as the $3.80 favourite for Sydney’s Spring Carnival feature staying race after drawing the inside marble with James McDonald to ride.
David Hayes and Tom Dabernig’s import Almoonqith made up plenty of ground from the back when sixth in the Group 3 $150,000 MRC Foundation Cup (2000m) at Caulfield on September 19 and the 2400m of the Metropolitan looks right up his alley and he is marked as one of the top fancies in the market order at $7.
The only other runner under double figures is the Robert HIckmott trained Chance To Dance who did his early racing in Ireland before joining the Lloyd Williams Team at Mt Macedon.
At his second run on Australian soil, the Teofilo six year old won a 1600m Moonee Valley Handicap on September 5 followed by an eighth in the Hill Stakes and is currently an $8.50 chance with Craig Williams certain to give him every chance from barrier five.
The rest of the field is over $10 with the Peter and Paul Snowden trained Disclaimer and Ghost Protocol from the Paul Perry stable the outsiders of the fourteen horse field at $81.