Thai Airways International Sprint – 18 October 2008

The $200,000 Group 2 Thai Airways International Sprint is one of the main support races for the Caulfield Cup this weekend, and 14 horses have accepted for the 1100 metre race. It is an interesting field, as nine of the runners haven’t started in the last month, so will be nice and fresh.

The topweight is Grand Duels who will carry 57kg. He has had three starts this spring beginning with a close win in the Auries Star, second by a head then fourth by half a length, where he was only ran down right at the end in a 1200 metre race. Dropping back to 1100 metres will suit him, and he came second at his only previous Caulfield start.

Captain Bax is seven-years-old and put together some good sprints in June and August, including a win in the 1100 metre Missile Stakes on 2 August, and is returning after a two month break. He has won three of his seven first-up starts, and always runs well at this distance.

Sunburnt Land won two races in May then returned to produce a good win in a 1200 metre handicap at Caulfield on 20 September. Since then he has been very unlucky as he was an emergency in the Group 3 Bobbie Lewis Quality and missed a start, then was an emergency in the Group 1 Manikato Stakes and missed a start again. After that he was first emergency for the Group 2 Gilgai Stakes and gained a run after there was a scratching, but got cast under the stall just before the race and had to be scratched. A barrier extension will be used to help him this time as he is a big horse. Punters who have been around a while will remember they had to use something similar with giant mare Empire Rose.

Morgan Dollar has had a 56 day break following a win and a second, and has a first-up record of three wins from four. Aichi returns from a six-week let-up after his Sydney form Danehill Stakes win at Flemington on September 6. The three-year-old is the most lightly raced horse in the field, but his five starts have yielded three wins and two seconds.

Red Element has a good record with four wins from seven starts, but all wins have been at 1200 metres. Hurried Choice is the only mare in the race. She failed at her first start the Melbourne way of going, after a nice win in the Theo Marks on 13 September.

by Jo Jackson