Adelaide Cup winning mare Fanatic looks on track for another two mile target in next month’s Group 1 $2 million Schweppes Sydney Cup (3200m) after a nice jump-out on Tuesday morning.
Adelaide Cup winning mare Fanatic looks spot-on for a shot at the 2018 Sydney Cup at Royal Randwick on April 14 during ‘The Championships’. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.
The Lindsay Park-trained daughter of 2009 Melbourne Cup winner Shocking impressed co-trainer and Hall of Famer David Hayes with her gallop on the course proper at Seymour where stablemates Vega Magic and recent acquisition Spieth were also on show.
“She was terrific today,” Hayes told Racing Victoria on Tuesday speaking of Fanatic who is yet to have an official start in Sydney.
“She worked on the Sydney leg with the going Dead to Slow and she ran her last furlong at the end of 10 furlongs in 10.9 [seconds] so it was excellent work.”
Fanatic took her two mile record up to two wins from four starts last time out at Morphettville on March 12 saluting by a quarter length with the in-form Michael Walker in the saddle for the Group 1 $400,000 Adelaide Cup (3200m).
She also saluted over the distance in her final spring run last November with Walker aboard in the Listed $150,000 Sandown Cup (3200m).
Like her regular rider, Fanatic is a Kiwi expat and she has been racing down under since last spring having previously been trained across the Tasman by Graeme Sanders.
Hayes won the 1993 Sydney Cup with Azzaam and is hoping for a second with Fanatic who pays $12 in the latest pre-field markets at Ladbrokes.com.au for the April 14 showdown on Day 2 of ‘The Championships’.
The last Sydney Cup winning mare to beat home the boys was the John O’Shea-trained Jessicabeel in 2010, while Gallic (2007) was the last Adelaide Cup winner to run in the Sydney Cup next race and complete the dual state staying double.
Fanatic carried 57.5kg to victory in the Adelaide Cup.
She was originally allocated just 50kg in the Sydney Cup weights but received a half-kilo penalty for her Group 2 success, still looking very well-weighted on 50.5kg.
Current all-in Sydney Cup betting has the 2016 Melbourne Cup champ Almandin as the $7.50 favourite.
The Lloyd Williams-raced eight-year-old has his final Sydney Cup lead-up this weekend racing third-up in the Group 1 $1.5 million KIA Tancred Stakes (2400m) at Rosehill Gardens where he will reunite with his Melbourne Cup winning hoop Kerrin McEvoy.
Almandin is allocated the 57kg top weight in the latest Sydney Cup handicaps.
Master Of Arts is now on 51.5kg but is not guaranteed a start in the 20 horse Sydney Cup field sitting equal 25th on the latest order of entry.
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