Monday, 29th April 2024
All enquiries - Gary Knowles 0406 599 773
While Saturday's race day focuses on the juveniles in the Golden Slipper, the mouth-watering clash between Addeybb (Pivotal-Bush Cat, by Kingmambo) and Verry Elleegant (Zed-Opulence, by Danroad) in the Gr1 Ranvet Stakes (2000m) is the race many can't wait to see. Chasing back-to-back to wins in the Ranvet after defeating Verry Elleegant 12 months ago by a half-length margin, the William Haggas-trained international traveller Addeybb has had a further four starts since that win, recording three wins, two of them at Group 1 level as well as a Group 1 second place. Never out of the top three in nine starts at 2000m, compared to six from eight for the Chris Waller-trained mare, the clash has been made even more interesting with other runners added to the field after acceptances were re-taken. Adding further intrigue to the mix is this season's Gr1 WS Cox Plate winner Sir Dragonet (Camelot-Sparrow, by Oasis Dream), who has disappointed in his two runs this time in, with training duo Ciaron Maher and David Eustace placing the blame for his bad performance solely on their shoulders, indicating that the horse is now back to his ideal trip and will use this race as a stepping stone to the 2400m of the Gr1 Queen Elizabeth, a race where he is likely to clash with last year's quinella of Addeybb and Verry Elleegant. Another who adds to the excitment of the race is Godolphin's Gr1 Australian Oaks winning mare Colette (Hallowed Crown-Libretto, by Singspiel) who has had six starts on slow or heavy tracks, winning five and running a narrow second to Verry Elleegant two starts back in the Gr1 Chipping Norton Stakes.
