Zapateo heads 12-strong Begonia Belle Stakes field

Wandering Eyes · November 1, 2023

Zapateo is early favourite for the Begonia Belle Stakes at Flemington this Saturday.

A dozen sprinters are set to light up the Flemington straight course this Saturday in the Group 3 Begonia Belle Stakes (1100m).

The $200,000 feature is restricted to mares, with the James Cummings-trained Zapateo holding the call with top online bookmakers.

Despite being dual-accepted for the Giga Kick Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill, the booking of James McDonald would suggest she’s heading to Melbourne, and most betting sites haven’t hesitated to install her as a +260 favourite.

Rose Quartz will be trying to bounce from her minor placing in the Group 3 Northwood Plume Stakes (1200m), while Dancing Alone is seeking three wins on the trot.

The pair share the second line of betting at +450.

Godolphin stablemate Red Card (+800) comes back in trip after tackling 1200m in the Northwood Plume Stakes at Caulfield.

Meanwhile, the Michael Freedman-trained Queen Of The Ball (+1200) brings Sydney Group 3 form into the mix following a fourth-place finish in The Nivision (1200m) at Rosehill on October 7.

The 2023 Begonia Belle Stakes is the third race on the Flemington program and is set to be run and won at 1:40pm AEDT.

Begonia Belle Stakes 2023 field

No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight
1	Zapateo	James Cummings	James McDonald	3	58kg
2	Queen of The Ball	Michael Freedman	Damien Oliver	12	57kg
3	Aitch Two Oh	Richard & Chantelle Jolly	Linda Meech	6	57kg
4	Red Card	James Cummings	Tim Clark	11	56kg
5	Lempicka	Ken & Kasey Keys	Blaike McDougall	7	56kg
6	Rose Quartz	Grahame Begg	Blake Shinn	1	55kg
7	Willinga Beast	Kris Lees	Jamie Spencer	9	55kg
8	Hypothetical	Anthony & Sam Freedman	Jamie Kah	8	55kg
9	Starlight Scope	Pat Carey & Harris Walker	TBC	4	55kg
10	Dancing Alone	Bryce Heys	Billy Egan	10	55kg
11	Ghaanati	Peter & Paul Snowden	TBC	2	55kg
12	South Of Houston	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)	Jye McNeil	5	55kg