In Brief
- Deroche pulls up well from Magic Millions win.
- Platinum Angel should improve from Bow Mistress outing.
- Mandela Effect would need miracle to gain start in All-Star Mile.
Talented three-year-old filly Deroche has been well backed to win the Group 3 Vamos Stakes in Launceston tomorrow.
Deroche was unlucky not to win the Group 3 Bow Mistress (1200m) in Hobart and followed up with an effortless all-the-way win in the 3 & 4YO Tasmanian Magic Millions Classic over 1400m on Sunday.
The only query is whether she will be at her best backing up from Sunday’s assignment, but connections are confident she has taken no harm from the outing.
“She ate everything in her feed bin on Sunday night and again the following night, her demeanour around the stable has been spot-on and she proved she can deal with running a strong 1400 metres.” trainer Leanne Gaffney said.
Bookmakers reacted to her Magic Millions win by offering only $2.70 when betting opened but punters rallied to back her into $2.50 with some pundits believing she could start as short as $2.00.
Last year’s Vamos winner Twitchy Frank also has been backed in from $4.50 to $4.00 and her trainer Adam Trinder says the mare will go into the race at her peak.
“My mare has been working her way to peak fitness and she will go into the Vamos as good as she can be,” Trinder said.
“She won this race last year and while this year’s edition is slightly stronger, I couldn’t be happier with my mare’s condition going into this race.”
The quality of interstate rivals this year is stronger than in previous years with the Lindsey Smith-trained Platinum Angel likely to appreciate stepping up to 1400 metres more than the others.
Platinum Angel was an eye-catching fourth in the Bow Mistress in Hobart at what was her first start for almost three months, and she was only beaten 1.45 lengths after suffering interference in the run.
The Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained mare Jentico goes into the race on the back of two impressive wins, the latest at Caulfield late last month but she has since been to trials at Werribee last week and from all reports has travelled well to the state.
The weight-for-age Mowbray Stakes (1600m) looks an ideal assignment for All-Star Mile hopeful Mandela Effect and he would need to win impressively if he is to sneak into the $5 million race at Caulfield via a wildcard entry.
Watch the replay of Deroche winning in Launceston on Sunday