Last year’s winner and first-up specialist Alizee heads up the nominations for the 2020 Group 2 $200,000 Expressway Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill on Saturday.
Alizee, above, heads the nominations for the 2020 Expressway Stakes at Rosehill. Photo by Steve Hart.
Alizee was a first-up winner in last year’s Expressway Stakes which was one of her four first-up wins from five first-up attempts and she looks to have a great chance of continuing that trend against a small field after extra nominations were called for after only seven horses were entered on Monday.
The five year old Sepoy mare is the winner of three Group 1 races and trained James Cummings is happy with her progress in the lead up to her opening run for the 2020 Autumn Carnival.
“She’s performing strongly in her work and, as you know, she goes very well first up,” Cummings told the Herald Sun.
Alizee finished third behind Mystic Journey in the inaugural running of the $5m All-Star Mile (1600m) at Flemington in March last year and along with stablemates Avilius and Flirt will be aimed towards that race again which will be run at Caulfield this year on March 14.
“The trio are certainly legitimate chances for the All-Star Mile,” Cummings said.
“The intricacies of the race and getting in are another thing, though.”
Alizee was a first-up winner during her 2019 Spring Carnival campaign when she took out the Group 2 $200,000 Missile Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill in August and will be having her first Autumn Carnival assignment in the Expressway Stakes since finishing fourth in the Group 1 $2m Darley Sprint Classic (1200m) at Flemington on the last day of the 2019 Melbourne Cup Carnival in November.
Cummings has added 2019 Golden Slipper winner Kiamichi to the original Expressway Stakes nominations while Kolding, Sir Bachus and Vegadaze are also late entries.
The Chris Waller trained Kubrick was in the original nominations for the Expressway Stakes and the three year old will be having his first run back since winning the $1m Bondi Stakes (1600m) at Randwick during the 2019 Sydney Spring Carnival.
Also among the original nominations for the Expressway Stakes are the Gerald Ryan trained Standout and Bjorn Baker’s sprinter Irithea.
Alizee has been installed as the short priced favourite for the Expressway Stakes at $1.90 with Ladbrokes.com.au ahead of Standout at $4.50 and Kubrick at $6.50.
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