Journalists Wandering Eyes Posted September 27, 2023 Journalists Share Posted September 27, 2023 Hope In Your Heart is current favourite to take out Saturday’s Group 1 $1.5 million Epsom Handicap (1600m) after the shock withdrawal of the original top elect Pericles from the mile classic on Tuesday. Hope In Your Heart is one of the best in Epsom Handicap 2023 betting for the Sydney mile showdown this Saturday. Photo: Steve Hart. The James Cummings-trained Pericles was withdrawn from the official Epsom Handicap field just hours after final acceptances were taken after he was found to have blood in his nostrils following a piece of trackwork on Tuesday morning. The following stewards’ report stated that “a subsequent endoscopic examination of the horse detected blood in its trachea”. The event came as a major blow to the Godolphin stable after Pericles had been saved especially for the Epsom and earlier scratched from the $1 million 7 Stakes (1600m) back on September 16. Updated Epsom Handicap betting markets at Ladbrokes have the Kerry Parker-trained mare Hope In Your Heart as the $7 favourite in barrier 10 with Craig Williams in the saddle. The five-year-old daughter of Dundeel has a decent mile record (5:1-3-0) and was also fourth behind Mr Brightside in the Group 1 Doncaster Mile at the track and trip as a 30/1 outsider back in April. Mr Brightside has firmly franked that form winning all three of his starts this prep including defeating Alligator Blood, who went on to successfully defend his Underwood Stakes title last weekend, by 1.5 lengths in Flemington’s Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) a fortnight back. Hope In Your Heart meanwhile ran second after the Doncaster in the Group 1 Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m) here on the quick back-up. She resumed on September 2 when 1.6 lengths third to Pericles in the Group 2 Tramway Stakes (1400m) and looks a genuine chance to salute at elite level on the weekend. The next best two in betting both hail from the Chris Waller stable with the master trainer chasing his fifth Epsom Handicap victory since 2011. Waller plays a very strong hand again in 2023 with eight final acceptors for the Epsom seven of which are assured of a run plus the second emergency Political Debate. The best of the Waller contingent in the Epsom markets are the winter’s Group 1 Queensland Derby winner Kovalica ($9) and the in-form Rediener ($10) drawn in barriers seven and two respectively. Last weekend Brazilian hoop Joao Moreira answered an S.O.S. call from Waller and travelled down under to partner Militarize to a thrilling late victory in the Group 1 Golden Rose Stakes. The ‘Magic Man’ will be after more Group 1 glory on the Aussie turf booked to ride Ocean Park four-year-old Kovalica in the Epsom. The horse was good in Queensland last prep wining the Queensland Guineas and Derby with a third to Huetor in the Group 1 Doomben Cup (2000m) in between. Fresh he ran ninth with 58kg behind Golden Mile in Rosehill’s Group 2 Theo Marks Stakes (1300m) with improvement to come second-up on Saturday over the extra distance and back to 54kg. Rediener meanwhile gets in on the Epsom Handicap minimum carrying 50kg with Kathy O’Hara to ride the four-year-old son of Redoute’s Choice. The progressive staying type chases his fourth consecutive win having enjoyed back-to-back winter wins including in the Group 3 Gunsynd Classic at Eagle Farm over the mile before taking out the Group 3 Bill Ritchie Handicap (1400m) here a fortnight back with O’Hara aboard. Another last-start Group 3 winner for Waller in the mix at $13 is Flying Artie five-year-old Democracy Manifest with the Randwick specialist (7:3-0-1) coming off a Group 3 Cameron Handicap (1500m) victory by 2.46 lengths at Newcastle two weeks ago. Evergreen eight-year-old The Inevitable is also being kept safe at current Epsom Handicap odds of $10. The John Keys-trained Tasmanian raider, formerly with Scott Brunton, was huge here in the autumn when under a length back third to Mr Brightside in the $5 million All-Star Mile (1600m) at a big price at The Valley. He was runner-up only a quarter-length off the winner in the Theo Marks earlier this prep and presents as a danger with a strong second-up record (7:4-1-0), previous winning form at the track, and a nice strike-rate at a mile (6:3-1-1). Cummings may have lost Pericles but he is still represented in the Epsom line-up on the weekend with Theo Marks winner Golden Mile ($15) donning the Royal Blue silks with Blake Shinn riding the Astern four-year-old from the second outside alley. The Group 1 $750,000 The Metropolitan (2400m) is the other elite level feature on Epsom Handicap Day in Sydney with markets for the Caulfield Cup lead-up led by the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained Just Fine. 2023 Epsom Handicap Field & Barriers No Last 10 Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight Probable Weight Penalty Hcp Rating 1 16x6026x64 MY OBERON (IRE) Annabel Neasham Chad Schofield 18 56kg 109 2 8x41292x11 PERICLES James Cummings Nash Rawiller 14 56kg 109 3 x1111113x2 THE INEVITABLE John Keys David Pires 8 55.5kg 108 4 3x121x0x96 GOING GLOBAL (IRE) Chris Waller James McDonald 12 55kg 110 5 00x73027x4 CONVERGE Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott Tim Clark 9 55kg 107 6 1x2400x901 GOLDEN MILE James Cummings Blake Shinn 21 55kg 107 7 1x69x04x76 KIRWAN’S LANE (NZ) John O’Shea Tom Sherry 11 54.5kg 105 8 142x1442x3 HOPE IN YOUR HEART Kerry Parker Craig Williams 10 54kg 109 9 1x93186x09 DIAMIL (IRE) John O’Shea Jason Collett 5 54kg 105 10 111x3131x9 KOVALICA (NZ) Chris Waller Joao Moreira 7 54kg 105 11 21113553×4 NUGGET (GB) Ciaron Maher & David Eustace Damien Oliver 19 54kg 105 12 2111263×64 POUNDING Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman Ms Jamie Kah 13 54kg 105 13 2x37160x00 COMMUNIST Michael Freedman Dylan Gibbons (a) 6 53.5kg 104 14 52x131x8x0 DUKE DE SESSA (IRE) Ciaron Maher & David Eustace Regan Bayliss 15 53.5kg 104 15 261x407x28 MADAME POMMERY Chris Waller Kerrin McEvoy 16 51.5kg 104 16 13x1761x01 DEMOCRACY MANIFEST Chris Waller Tyler Schiller 1 51.5kg 1.5kg 100 17 8x641211x1 REDIENER Chris Waller Ms Kathy O’Hara 2 50kg 100 18 0x31023417 BARBIE’S FOX Ben, Will & JD Hayes Dean Yendall 4 50kg 98 19 191x520x33 WATERFORD (IRE) Chris Waller Zac Lloyd (a) 20 50kg 97 20 114x11x158 OLENTIA Chris Waller Jay Ford 17 50kg 95 21e x745303x42 WILLIAMSBURG Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou Andrew Adkins 3 50kg 94 22e 312x80x529 POLITICAL DEBATE Chris Waller Ms Rachel King 22 50kg 87 Table Credit: Racing Australia. The post Epsom Handicap 2023 Field & Odds Update appeared first on HorseRacing.com.au. View the full article Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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