2008 Winterbottom Stakes – 29 November 2008

The $400,000 Group 2 SGIO Winterbottom Stakes for three-year-olds and upwards over 1200 metres has brought together the best sprint race field that Perth has ever seen. There is the much anticipated clash between Takeover Target and Apache Cat but there is plenty of talent in the rest of the nine horse field.

The weight-for-age conditions mean the eight geldings will all carry 58.5kg, from the five-year-old Danny Beau who set a West Australian record for 1200 metres at his last start on 15 November, to the veteran nine-year-old Takeover Target who has over $5 million in prizemoney with 17 wins in Australia, England, Japan and Singapore. The three-year-old filly Hips Don’t Lie will carry 51.5kg which will seem like a feather on her back. 

Takeover Target is favourite in the early betting market at $2.70 just ahead of Apache Cat at $3. Takeover Target has drawn barrier one, and will be ridden by Jay Ford who has ridden him at all of his 17 wins. The horse has not started since the Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot in June where he ran fourth and was found to have a suspensory ligament strain. He was scratched from the Patinack Classic at Flemington on 8 November with a hoof problem, and has thrived since arriving in Perth over two weeks ago.

Apache Cat has won 16 of his 31 starts, including six Group 1 wins. His only race against Takeover Target was in the TJ Smith Stakes over 1200 metres at Randwick in April, when he was a convincing winner on the heavy track. He followed that up with two good wins in Brisbane and then was spelled for several months before returning to racing on 8 November in the Patinack Stakes. Although a short priced favourite he failed to fire and ran eighth in the eleven horse field. Connections are happy with the way the horse has settled in to Perth, but trainer Greg Eurell wants him to run first or second in the Winterbottom before he will confirm plans to run in the Hong Kong Sprint on 14 December at Sha Tin.

Third in the early betting market is Danny Beau at $5.50 who holds the 1200 metre course record of 1.08 after his win on 15 November, beating the previous record of 1.08.29 set in 2005 by Miss Andretti. Miss Andretti is Danny Beau’s half-sister, as they are both out of the mare Peggie’s Bid. Miss Andretti won the Winterbottom Stakes in 2005. Danny Beau has won eight of his twelve starts, all between 1000 and 1200 metres, and has won all six of his starts at Ascot.

Marasco in next in the market at $7.50. He has had nine of his thirteen wins at Ascot including the 2006 Winterbottom Stakes, and his last win on 8 November over 1400 metres at weight-for-age when he won by a length and a half. Last week he failed in the Railway Stakes over 1600 metres from the wide barrier, but is an immensely popular horse in Perth, with a bit of a cult following. He will be ridden by Brad Rawiller, as regular jockey William Pike had been booked for Hips Don’t Lie.

The winner of the Winterbottom receives an automatic invitation to the KrisFlyer in Singapore in May 2009.

by Jo Jackson