The Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes over 1200m at Caulfield on Saturday is the last Stakes race in Melbourne on the 2017 – 2018 Racing Calendar and will see several horses kicking off their 2018 Spring Racing Carnival campaigns.
Premiership winning trainer Darren Weir will saddle up three runners in the nine horse weight for age sprint with multiple Group 1 winner Black Heart Bart spearheading the team along with last start winners Voodoo Lad and Camdus.
Black Heart Bart has drawn the rails while the Mick Bell trained Jungle Edge will jump from the outside gate.
We have analysed every horse in the field and our 2018 Bletchingly Stakes tips can be found below.
Black Heart Bart
Black Heart Bart is one of three Darren Weir trained runners in the Bletchingly Stakes and will be having his first run since being unplaced in the Group 1 Kingston Town Classic in Perth during the 2017 – 2018 Summer Carnival. The multiple Group 1 winner is the class runner of the field but his fitness levels will be questionable first up with several of the other runners having a definite edge in that department. Will improve with the run.
Vega Magic
The Lindsay Park trained Vega Magic is on track for a bold first up performance after impressing in a recent Flemington jump out with the blinkers on. Vega Magic will wear the blinkers for the first time on race day in the Bletchingly Stakes, has a good first up record, is a winner over the Caulfield 1200m course and is one of the main chances.
Voodoo Lad
Voodoo Lad is the second of the Weir trained sprinters in the Bletchingly Stakes and was back in the winner’s circle last start at Caulfield when he beat this week’s rivals Inn Keeper and Jukebox in the 1100m Group 3 Sir John Monash Stakes on July 14. The six year old is a winner over the same course and distance as Saturday’s contest and has to be included among the chances again.
Jungle Edge
Jungle Edge has returned from a Sydney campaign that saw him win the Listed June Stakes (1100m) at Randwick three starts back and has had a freshen up since finishing fourth in the Listed Civic Stakes (1350m) at Rosehill on June 30. Jungle Edge excels on rain affected tracks and while the Caulfield track was rated a soft 5 at acceptance time on Wednesday, it might not be wet enough for the front running mudlark.
Crystal Dreamer
Crystal Dreamer will strip fitter for a first up sixth behind Voodoo Lad in the Sir John Monash Stakes but will be facing similar opposition in the Bletchingly Stakes. Will be safer to see how he performs again this week.
Camdus
Camdus is trainer Darren Weir’s third runner and heads into the Bletchingly Stakes as a last start winner in the 1200m Listed Victorian Sprint Series Final down the Flemington straight. Has successfully worked his way up through the grades but will find this a lot tougher.
Inn Keeper
Inn Keeper is another who worked his way up through the grades with four straight victories but his winning run came to an end last start when second to Voodoo Lad in the Sir John Monash Stakes. The four year old will meet Voodoo Lad on similar terms at weight for age again.
Jukebox
Jukebox is one of two three-year-olds to line up in the Bletchingly Stakes and trainer Ciaron Maher is expecting the Snitzel colt to strip fitter for his first up third in the Sir John Monash Stakes. Jukebox showed plenty of potential in his two year old year and is a winner over the Caulfield 1200m course. Has each way claims again.
Ardrossan
Scratched