Unbeaten colt Graff has drawn the outside barrier in the Group 2 $200,000 The Run To The Rose (1200m) at Rosehill on Saturday.
Graff, above, has drawn the outside barrier in the 2018 The Run To The Rose at Rosehill. Photo by Steve Hart.
Graff kept his perfect record intact and made it three wins from three starts with a two and half lengths victory in the Group 3 $150,000 Singapore Airlines San Domenico Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill on August 25.
Winning jockey Jason Collett had the luxury of sticking to the inside fence from barrier one in the San Domenic Stakes but he will have more work to do this week after drawing the outside gate in the thirteen horse The Run To The Rose field.
Collett was very impressed with the win and said that there is still more improvement to come from the Star Witness colt.
“He’s a bit of lad, physically there is still improvement to come with him,” Collett said.
Trainer Kris Lees also has a high opinion of Graff who will be trying to secure a spot in the Group 1 $1m De Bortoli Wines Golden Rose Stakes (1400m) at Rosehill on September 22.
“He’s the best colt I’ve had anything to do with – a really exciting horse. Really pleased with how he’s come back and I think there’s some nice races in store for him,” Lees said.
The Chris Waller trained Performer has drawn the rails this week and will get his chance to turn the tables on Graff after finishing third in the San Domenico Stakes after jumping from gate eight in the nine horse field.
Hugh Bowman will stick with Performer while James McDonald will ride the Waller trained Zousain from barrier eight and Tye Angland has been engaged to ride the stablemate Lean Mean Machine who will jump from gate seven.
The Lindsay Park Team of David and Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig will saddle up two runners in The Run To The Rose with Tommy Berry to ride Long Leaf and Luke Currie booked to ride Smart Elissim.
Sandbar was well supported in the betting ring before scoring first up in the Listed $150,000 Smithfield RSL Club Rosebud (1100m) at Rosehill on August 11 and has drawn barrier ten with Corey Brown taking over the reins from Kerrin McEvoy.
McEvoy has swapped mounts with Brown and will ride the David Atkins trained Jonker (barrier 4) who finished a first up fourth to Graff in the San Domenico Stakes.
Final field for the 2018 The Run To The Rose (1200m)
| No | Last 10 | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | Hcp Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 146122x | ZOUSAIN | Chris Waller | James McDonald | 8 | 57.5kg | 90 |
| 2 | 13310x | LEAN MEAN MACHINE | Chris Waller | Tye Angland | 7 | 57.5kg | 88 |
| 3 | 11×1 | GRAFF | Kris Lees | Jason Collett | 13 | 57kg | 85 |
| 4 | 1x1L0x3 | PERFORMER | Chris Waller | Hugh Bowman | 1 | 57kg | 83 |
| 5 | 323x81x8 | PAQUIRRI | Gary Moore | Christian Reith | 3 | 57kg | 81 |
| 6 | 2×221 | DANAWI | Tim Martin | – | 11 | 57kg | 75 |
| 7 | 11628×1 | SANDBAR | Brad Widdup | Corey Brown | 10 | 56kg | 85 |
| 8 | 11x10649x2 | LONG LEAF | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Tommy Berry | 9 | 56kg | 82 |
| 9 | 110×4 | JONKER | David Atkins | Kerrin McEvoy | 4 | 56kg | 78 |
| 10 | 1x4342x8 | LEGEND OF CONDOR | Gerald Ryan | Brett Prebble | 12 | 55kg | 80 |
| 11 | 5310×5 | TCHAIKOVSKY | Peter & Paul Snowden | – | 5 | 55kg | 71 |
| 12 | 113 | SMART ELISSIM | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Luke Currie | 2 | 55kg | 70 |
| 13 | 47×14 | NUCLEAR BLITZ | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | Andrew Adkins | 6 | 53kg | 62 |
The post Graff draws outside barrier in 2018 The Run To The Rose appeared first on HorseRacing.com.au.
