Godolphin’s warhorse Hartnell is set to clash again with his rising star stablemate Alizee when the pair line up against each other for the fifth time in Saturday’s Group 1 $1m New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield.
Hartnell, above, is set to take on glamour stablemate Alizee in the Memsie Stakes at Caulfield. Photo by Steve Hart.
The ledger is square with the records showing two a piece with their latest clash going Hartnell’s way after the veteran finished third in the Group 1 $3m The Star Doncaster Mile (1600m) at Randwick on Day One of The Championships on April 6 with Alizee beating three runners home in seventeenth spot.
Hartnell’s other victory over Alizee was when the pair finished second and third behind Mystic Journey in the $5m All-Star Mile (1600m) at Flemington on March 16.
Alizee had the wood on Hartnell in the early part of the 2019 Autumn Carnival with the Sepoy mare winning the Group 2 $200,000 Expressway Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill (Hartnell 5th) and the Group 1 $500,000 Yulong Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield (Hartnell 3rd).
The James Cummings trained Alizee has resumed for the Spring Carnival with a win in the Group 2 $200,000 Missile Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill on August 10 while Hartnell ran his usual honest race with a tough third behind Mystic Journey and Cliff’s Edge in the Group 2 $200,000 P.B. Lawrence Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on August 17.
Cummings is learning towards Alizee coming out on top but isn’t writing off the veteran nine year old.
“It was a first-up effort that was first class, she demonstrated a lot of strength to get over the line. I feel that she’ll be well-equipped second-up,” Cummings said of Alizee’s chances in the Memsie Stakes
“Of all the options available to her, we’ve chosen the Memsie as a beautiful target race.”
Cummings was delighted with Hartnell’s first up effort in the P.B. Lawrence Stakes.
“He’ll be tested by the strength of the Memsie, but I think we saw in his first-up run two weeks ago, he still has the desire and he’s thrived between runs,” Cummings said.
Race eve betting for the Memsie Stakes at Ladbrokes.com.au has Alizee as the $3.30 favourite while Hartnell is on the third line of betting at $7.
Betting for the 2019 Memsie Stakes at Ladbrokes.com.au: $3.30 Alizee, $5 Scales Of Justice, $7 Hartnell, $7.50 Begood Toya Mother, $9 Cliff’s Edge, $18 Humidor, Fundamentalist, $21 Despatch, So Si Bon, Sesar, $34 Black Heart Bart, $41 Oohood, $61 Material Man.
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