The Group 1 $700,000 Ranvet Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill on Saturday will decide the remaining Autumn Carnival program for Kiwi mare Consensus.
Gailo Chop, above, is the favourite for the 2018 Ranvet Stakes at Rosehill. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.
The Group 1 winning Concensus has drawn barrier eight in the nine horse Ranvet Stakes field and will be ridden by Sydney based Kiwi jockey Jason Collett in her first run on Australian soil.
The Stephen McKee trained mare tasted Group 1 success in the Summer of 2016 with a win in the NZ$200,000 Zabeel Classic (2000m) at Ellerslie and heads to Rosehill on Saturday on the back of a second to Devise in the Group 1 NZ$200,000 Haunui Farm Classic (1600m) at Hastings.
Consensus’ performance in the Ranvet Stakes will help McKee decide where he heads with the six year old mare for the rest for the Autumn.
“She’s a six-year-old now in the autumn of her career so she deserves her chance over there,” McKee told the New Zealand Racing Desk.
“A lot depends on Saturday, but she’ll probably only have a couple of runs and if she does run well then we’ll have another go at a big one.”
“She’s got a lot of black type so she’s really got nothing left to prove here.”
Consensus has been listed as one of the outsiders of the Ranvet Stakes field at $17 with Ladbrokes.com.au who have the Darren Weir trained Gailo Chop as the $1.80 favourite.
Gailo Chop has drawn barrier four with Mark Zahra booked to ride again and comes to Sydney with very sound Melbourne Autumn Carnival form.
The French import scored a first up win in the Group 3 $150,000 Ladbrokes TS Carlyon Cup (1600m) at Caulfield on February 10 followed by another win at the same track two weeks later in the Group 2 $200,000 Carlton Draught Peter Young Stakes (1800m).
Gailo Chop was then sent out as the $2.60 favourite for the Group 1 $1.5m Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington on March 10 but was run down in the last fifty metres when runner up to the Lindsay Park trained Harlem.
The pair are set to clash again in the Ranvet Stakes with Harlem, an $11 chance, drawing barrier six with Australian Cup winning jockey Michael Walker on his back again.
Tough mare Single Gaze is on the second line of betting at $7 and is also coming out the Australian Cup with a fifth placing which followed a nose second to Hartnell in the Group 1 $500,000 Ladbrokes C.F. Orr Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on February 10 and a second to Gailo Chop in the Peter Young Stakes.
Regular rider Kathy O’Hara is aboard Single Gaze again and the mare will jump from the inside gate.
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