THE Group 1 Rookie Rebel will give Australia's best middle distance stars the chance to shine on the big stage as they all compete for a slice of the $75,000 winner's cheque.
Amazingly, half of the field are sired by High Earner, the former Queensland star who once held the all time prize money record. He will be represented by Ralphy Cinel (box one), Sisco Rage (box four), Star Recall (box six) and Lamia Bale (box seven).
Cosmic Chief will also have two pups in the event with Ride The Rails (box two) and Cosmic Wise (box eight) looking to give their sire his first win at the top level. Incidentally, Cosmic Chief was trained by Darren Brown, who also owns his son, Ride The Rails.
ARG's Brad Bugeja: “Super talent who has won four of five over this journey. He is drawn to get all the breaks in the early stages and if he does find the lure in the early stages he will take a power of beating. Last time out he won the Big Dog Cup at Albion Park in a devastating 34.70 and if he reproduces that effort he will take some catching. He appears to be racing with extreme confidence and he really looks a good bet from the red draw.”
ARG's Brad Bugeja: “Absolute star and he is unbeaten in his two tries over this journey. There is a bit of speed draw around him but if he can step on terms he would have more than enough pace to push through and hold them out. Four runs back he turned in an almighty performance when placed in the Warragul Cup Final and he deserves to win a big one. He has them all covered for talent and he just needs a clear run early to win this.”
ARG's Brad Bugeja: “Racing in great heart of late and if he happened to find the early lead he could definitely feature. The concern though is that over this journey he will need to lead clearly and with the amount of speed in this event, I just can't see that happening. Place chances do look best but even then, he will still need a lot to go his way.”
ARG's Brad Bugeja: “Like Ride The Rails, he is racing in peak form at present and he is probably the hardest chaser in this race. Once again the box draw hasn't done him any favours but if he can time the start he should be able to settle in a prominent position and he will be very strong in the run to the line. From the draw he is going to need a lot of luck but he is going to be over the odds and he does appear to be a nice each way bet.”
ARG's Brad Bugeja: “Has been a good chaser for quite a while now and he deserves his spot, however he is a little down on his best form at present and he will need a lot of things to go right for him to feature. From the middle pin he is likely to get spat out the back early and he can't give these type of chasers a start and a beating.”
ARG's Brad Bugeja: “Absolute star and she has taken all before her in recent months. She has a blistering 34.01 PB over this journey and she is armed with genuine early speed. There is very little speed directly underneath her so if she can step away cleanly she should be able to settle in the top two or three early. I think she has only tasted defeat once over this distance range and in all of her wins she has run blistering times, she is going to be fairly short but everything points to her to win.”
ARG's Brad Bugeja: “One of the most honest chasers in training and she is capable of pinging the lids. Her recent racing has been done over the sprint journeys of late and that means she should be nice and sharp and she should show a lot of early speed. If she can step cleanly she should follow Star Recall across early and that will allow her to settle in a prominent spot. I dont think she can win tonight but she is more than capable of running a place.”
ARG's Brad Bugeja: “Much better than her recent form reads and she has a terrific record here. She is likely to start double figure odds tonight and she could be the value. Two starts back she turned in a great effort when placed behind Astronomize and a repeat effort would see her run a mighty race here. She recorded her impressive 34.28 PB here from this draw, so the wide draw shouldn't pose too many problems.”