Champion jockey Damien Oliver will have to weave his magic on Alizee after the favourite drew a wide barrier in the 2019 Group 1 $1m New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on Saturday.
Damien Oliver will ride Alizee, above, in the 2019 Memsie Stakes at Caulfield. Photo by Steve Hart.
Oliver will be having his first ride on the James Cummings trained Alizee who has drawn gate eleven in the thirteen horse Memsie Stakes field.
Alizee was a narrow first up winner for Hugh Bowman in the Group 2 $200,000 Missile Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill on August 10 but the Sydney based jock has decided to stay home and ride at Rosehill on Saturday, opening the door for Oliver to pick up the plumb ride.
Oliver is yet to sit on Alizee but is happy to get the call up to partner the exciting Godolphin mare who is a three times Group 1 winner.
“It’s really exciting to get an opportunity on a class horse like her,” Oliver told the Herald Sun.
“I hear she’s a big, strong mare.”
“And she’s got what sets great horses apart from others – she’s got great acceleration. That’s what you want – a horse than can get you in and out of trouble when you need to and quicken up when they need to.”
The Memsie Stakes has pulled together a star studded field of Group 1 winners with Alizee’s stablemate Hartnell to carry the number one saddlecloth from barrier one with Craig Williams aboard.
Last year’s Memsie Stakes winner Humidor is resuming from injury and will be having his first run back since finishing third to Winx in the Group 1 $5m Ladbrokes Cox Plate (2040m) at The Valley during the 2018 Melbourne Spring Carnival.
Regular rider Damian Lane is back in the saddle on the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace trained Humidor who has drawn awkwardly at gate ten while his stablemate Cliff’s Edge will jump from gate two with Mark Zahra in the saddle.
The Lindsay Park Team of David and Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig will also have two runners in the Memsie Stakes with Luke Nolen to ride So Si Bon from barrier three and Fundamentalist to jump from gate four with Michael Walker in the saddle.
In-form sprinter Begood Toya Mother has drawn the outside gate with regular rider Declan Bates retaining the mount.
Final field for the 2019 Memsie Stakes (1400m)
| No | Last 10 | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | Hcp Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20x53233x3 | HARTNELL (GB) | James Cummings | Craig Williams | 1 | 59kg | 116 |
| 2 | 29x496870x | BLACK HEART BART | Lindsey Smith | Brad Rawiller | 9 | 59kg | 109 |
| 3 | 84x817333x | HUMIDOR (NZ) | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Damian Lane | 10 | 59kg | 116 |
| 4 | x32x6900x6 | MATERIAL MAN | Pat Carey | Rhys McLeod | 12 | 59kg | 107 |
| 5 | 2730x53x12 | SCALES OF JUSTICE | Lindsey Smith | Dean Yendall | 5 | 59kg | 109 |
| 6 | x071516x32 | CLIFF’S EDGE | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Mark Zahra | 2 | 59kg | 107 |
| 7 | 50x11110x4 | DESPATCH | Tony McEvoy | Jamie Kah | 8 | 59kg | 107 |
| 8 | 41292450×1 | SO SI BON | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Luke Nolen | 3 | 59kg | 104 |
| 9 | 48x11111x1 | BEGOOD TOYA MOTHER | Daniel Bowman | Declan Bates | 13 | 59kg | 94 |
| 10 | 154x17x163 | SESAR | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | Dwayne Dunn | 7 | 58.5kg | 100 |
| 11 | 1x111306x1 | ALIZEE | James Cummings | Damien Oliver | 11 | 57kg | 116 |
| 12 | 44130x08x7 | OOHOOD | Tony McEvoy | Luke Currie | 6 | 56.5kg | 103 |
| 13 | 3x432200x3 | FUNDAMENTALIST | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Michael Walker | 4 | 56.5kg | 102 |
The post Oliver to weave his magic on 2019 Memsie Stakes favourite Alizee appeared first on HorseRacing.com.au.
