2017 Ladbrokes C.F. Orr Stakes Day Preview

It is a brilliant day of racing at Caulfield this weekend. Refulgent is a tough horse to trust, but Darren Weir looks to have found a nice race for him. Ben Allen is sure to put him right in the race from the inside gate and he has been thereabouts this preparation. He has only won the once at Caulfield, but he has run a stack of good races at the venue.

1 Unit Refulgent

Attention was not really suited in the Expressway Stakes and this is a much better race for him. There is not a great deal of speed in this race and Kerrin McEvoy should be able to cross on Attention fairly comfortably to take up the running. All of his best performances have come at 1400 metres and on his best I think that he does have a touch of a class edge on the rest of his rivals. The main danger is Ruthven and he does have a heap of x-factor, so I don’t want to lose on the race if he wins.

2 Units Attention

1 Unit Ruthven

I have a big opinion of a couple of horses in this field and neither of them is Catchy. There is a great deal of hype surrounding her, but that definitely exceeds anything that she has actually produced during her racing career to date. Limestone just keeps on improving and she showed a great deal of toughness to win the Blue Diamond Preview. She is still learning her craft and has a great deal of upside.

Arctic Angel has been something of a forgotten filly, but her effort to win the Merson Cooper Stakes remains one of the best two-year-old performances of the season. Her recent barrier trial at Cranbourne was excellent and she will definitely give them something to catch with Kerrin McEvoy in the saddle.

2.5 Units Limestone

1.5 Units Arctic Angel

There was no doubt that he had a bit of luck to beat Menari in the Canonbury Stakes, but there was still plenty to like about the debut performance of Pariah. The way that he hit the line suggests that he is already a professional horse and he has proven that running out a strong 1100 metres is not an issue. Team Snowden have an excellent record when they send their two-year-olds to Melbourne and he will be very difficult to beat.

2.5 Units Pariah

This is a very interesting race as there are a number of horses in this field that still have a great deal of improvement. Jennifer Lynn is the one horse in this field that is already proven at this level and she will be extremely tough to beat second-up. She was only narrowly beaten first-up and there is little chance that Darren Weir had her right up to the mark for that race. She has form around some talented horses in the spring and I expect that she will start much shorter than the current price on offer.

2.5 Units Jennifer Lynn

The Rubiton Stakes is set to be one of the most interesting races on the day. A firing Chautauqua would have no problems putting away this field, but there is a question mark over the big grey following his flops in the Moir Stakes and the Manikato Stakes in the spring. He is thrown in here at the weights. Wild Rain is a horse that I have a big opinion off and if Chautauqua wasn’t in the race I would just about declare her. She has an excellent record over this distance and she makes her own luck right on the speed, which will definitely give Chautauqua something to catch. Her first-up record is better than it looks on paper.

1 Unit Wild Rain

A fascinating edition of the Ladbrokes C.F. Orr Stakes. These 1400 metres events at Caulfield are the perfect races for Black Heart Bart. Malaguerra beat him fairly comfortably in the Australia Stakes at Moonee Valley, but there is little doubt that Black Heart Bart has much more upside over 1400 metres. He won the Memsie Stakes at this track and distance during the spring and he rarely runs a bad race.

One horse that does standout at a big price in CF Orr Stakes betting is Arod. He is a genuine world-class galloper on his day and he returned to Australian racing with what was an excellent effort over 1400 metres at Flemington on Crown Oaks Day. I expect a great deal from him this preparation and it would not surprise if he ran a very big race fresh at generous odds. I can’t knock Lucky Hussler and Malaguerra, while Ecuador is racing in career best form.

2 Units Black Heart Bart

½ Unit Arod

This is probably the toughest race of the day and it is not one that I am particularly keen to get involved in. Darren Weir looks to have a stranglehold on the race and it really would not surprise if he trained the trifecta, but there is no real value in the current betting market.

No Bet

Another open race in which to finish the day. I have a big opinion of Silent Sedition and Abbey Marie, but the value in this race is Thames Court. She ran an absolute belter in the first-up in the Cockram Stakes in the spring and that is a very similar race to this. She was thereabouts at Group 1 level last preparation and she can make a winning return to the races.

1 Unit Thames Court