Blinkers to help Sunlight focus in 2020 The Goodwood

Multiple Group 1 winning mare Sunlight will wear the blinkers for the first time when she steps out in the Group 1 $400,000 The Furphy Goodwood (1200m) at Morphettville on Saturday.

Sunlight ran the worst race of her brilliant career when she failed to beat a runner home in the sixteen horse field of the Group 1 $400,000 Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m) at Morphettville on May 2.

Tony McEvoy, who trains in partnership with his son Calvin, is desperate for Sunlight to turn her form around and said the filly worked strongly with the blinkers on at Flemington on Monday morning.

“Sunlight will wear blinkers for the first time on Saturday,” McEvoy told racing.com.

“At Flemington this morning Jamie Kah galloped her on the course proper for me in blinkers and she worked as she normally does, very sharp.

“We are not asking for improvement, we are asking for focus.”

Sunlight was given the once over after he failure in the Robert Sangster Stakes and nothing could be found amiss and McEvoy is expecting her to return to best form in The Goodwood.

“I think the mare is going very well,” McEvoy said.

“I didn’t see that coming last week (in the Sangster), it really knocked the wind out of our sails.

“I’m so pleased there is nothing amiss with her and she just had a day off, she’s in great order.”

Sunlight was always wide in the Robert Sangster Stakes after jumping from gate fourteen in the sixteen horse field but this week Barend Vorster will be able to give her every chance after she draw barrier three in the fifteen horse The Goodwood field.

Bookies at Ladbrokes.com.au are still keeping Sunlight fairly safe in the betting and have marked her at $9 while the local Adelaide star sprinter Gytrash has been installed as the favourite at $3.50.

Jason Holder has retained the mount on Gytrash after guiding him to a three lengths win in the Group 3 $120,000 R N Irwin Stakes (1100m) at Morphettville on April 18 and the Gordon Richards trained sprinter will jump from gate twelve.

The Anthony Freedman trained Santa Ana Lane is looking to win his second The Goodwood after claiming the trophy in 2018 an will jump from barrier ten with Group 1 Schweppes Oaks winning jockey Damien Thornton in the saddle.

Santa Ana Lane is the second pick in the betting at $7 just ahead of Trekking at $7.50 and The Inevitable at $8.

Betting for the 2020 The Goodwood at Ladbrokes.com.au: $3.50 Gytrash, $7 Santa Ana Lane, $7.50 Trekking, $8 The Inevitable, $9 Sunlight, $13 Order Of Command, $14 Behemoth, Lyre, $17 Xilong, $18 Zoutori, $21 Jungle Edge, $41 Bold Star, $81 Free Of Debt, Amberdi, Li’l Kontra.

Final field for the 2020 The Goodwood (1200m)

No	Last 10	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight		Hcp Rating
1	14x225x626	SANTA ANA LANE	Anthony Freedman	Damien Thornton	10	59kg		117
2	1x81324x72	TREKKING	James Cummings	John Allen	6	58.5kg		114
3	011x2x1321	GYTRASH	Gordon Richards	Jason Holder	12	58.5kg		112
4	3x53102x20	SUNLIGHT	Tony & Calvin McEvoy	Barend Vorster	3	57kg		114
5	0x1336x240	ZOUTORI	Mathew Ellerton & Simon Zahra	Lachlan Neindorf (a)	11	57kg		106
6	26x7x13301	JUNGLE EDGE	Mick Bell	Ms Georgina Cartwright (a)	13	56kg		108
7	18x1110x82	THE INEVITABLE	Patrick Payne	Dean Holland	15	56kg		105
8	11x6527x11	ORDER OF COMMAND	Danny O’Brien	Ethan Brown	2	55.5kg		106
9	72x24184x2	BEHEMOTH	David Jolly	Todd Pannell	7	54.5kg		103
10	6×11212844	BOLD STAR	Gordon Richards	Ms Kayla Crowther (a)	4	54.5kg		95
11	x4274x2442	LYRE	Anthony Freedman	Zac Spain	8	54kg		101
12	3x1131x341	XILONG	Tony & Calvin McEvoy	Paul Gatt	1	53.5kg		95
13	1130×2005	FREE OF DEBT	Chris Bieg	Dylan Caboche (a)	14	53kg		83
14	487124×294	AMBERDI	Sue Jaensch	Ms Emily Finnegan	9	52.5kg		91
15	2242×22556	LI’L KONTRA	Ryan Balfour	–	5	52kg		81

 

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