The Championships Day 1 features four Group 1 races across a 10-race program at Royal Randwick and we have the big races covered.
The Inglis Sires’, T J Smith Stakes, Doncaster Mile and Australian Derby are the four feature Group 1s and some top class action is in store.
The Championships Day 1 Tips
Race 6 - Inglis Sires' Tips (1400m)
12. Streisand has a few obvious queries, being deep into a prep off a few grand finals, along with stretching to 1400m for the first time, but she’s been comfortably the most genuine and professional juvenile we’ve seen this season.
The Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes win stands as one of the strongest two-year-old references, while the Golden Slipper second was full of merit, sticking on as the best on-speed runner in a race that was set up for those swooping.
3. Alibaba has been freshened and back to the trials since a midfield finish in the Blue Diamond Stakes and should’ve won the Millennium here in a prior Sydney visit. Always shown class and 1400m on a big track looks ideal now.
8. Outspan has done little wrong, pulling up lame in his only real failure to date, and his Pago Pago Stakes performance last start supports this rise to seven furlongs.
4. Campione D’Italia ran the fastest last 800m, 600m and 400m of the Golden Slipper. Entitled to run on given the strong tempo, but still spotted them a start and overcame some trouble.
Selections: 12-3-8-4.
Race 7 - Asahi Super Dry T J Smith Stakes Tips (1200m)
7. Tentyris announced himself as an elite sprinter with a Coolmore Stud Stakes win before returning to take out the Black Caviar Lightning in dominant fashion, while there were clear excuses in the Newmarket Handicap.
The pattern was heavily against him in that last attempt and despite that, along with cardiac arrhythmia detected post-race, he still ran the second-fastest last 400m of the meeting. Gate one is the knock, but he can bounce back with even luck.
3. Giga Kick resumed in the Black Caviar Lightning with an even performance, and The Challenge Stakes second-up saw him remain at 1000m, producing the fastest last 400m and 200m of the March 7 program. Getting to 1200m is a big tick now.
8. Skybird is a big price and, while difficult to trust, the ability is there to measure up. Her Challenge Stakes return was okay, tick-over trial was good and clearly open to improvement.
6. Joliestar will want the rain to stay away, which appears likely at this stage. She’s the most in-form contender and being prepared on the fresh side suits.
Selections: 7-3-8-6.
Race 8 - Doncaster Mile Tips (1600m)
15. Sheza Alibi is hard to oppose even though history is against fillies in the Doncaster Mile, with Sunline the last to win in 1999, but her Randwick Guineas victory was outstanding and she’s now down to 49kg for this famous handicap.
That last reference is key, putting more than three lengths on Autumn Boy when taking on the boys. He’s the second market elect after taking out the Rosehill Guineas, and from their last clash, where Sheza Alibi gave him windburn, she meets him 1kg better off.
3. Headley Grange is a value contender, as one of the in-form runners in this lineup who could be peaking. He ran the fastest last 400m and 200m of the Canterbury Stakes, while he was forced to retreat at a key stage in the George Ryder Stakes before closing strongly.
7. Autumn Boy gets blinkers reapplied for the drop in distance to 1600m after a comfortable Rosehill Guineas win over 2000m, and Chris Waller has so often been successful with this pattern.
9. Linebacker was a touch plain in the George Ryder Stakes, but the return was good without luck and he arguably should’ve won this race last year after taking out the Randwick Guineas.
Selections: 15-3-7-9.
Race 9 - ATC Australian Derby Tips (2400m)
3. Green Spaces has looked like a horse searching for a staying trip throughout the preparation and now gets the chance at 2400m after a Rosehill Guineas run, getting home with the fastest last 200m of that ten-furlong feature.
Pedigree also supports the rise, with granddam Serenade Rose a dual Oaks winner, and improvement has come with each increase in distance this campaign, pointing to a peak performance fourth-up, with Bjorn Baker timing the run well.
5. Storm Leopard comes through the Tulloch Stakes, a race that has produced five Derby winners in the past decade, reinforcing the strength of that pathway, and while it was a messy affair, he had a fair bit in hand on the line, which will help on the back-up.
4. Deal Done Fast can improve sharply from the Rosehill Guineas, where he was second-up and a month between runs, while also marking a first attempt racing clockwise. The Caulfield return was strong.
2. Road To Paris arrives off a New Zealand Derby victory, and in the last decade, three Australian Derby winners have come from that feature, and champion hoop Zac Purton has the ride.
Selections: 3-5-4-2.