Coolmore Stud Stakes market headed by Everest placegetter

Wandering Eyes · October 30

Growing Empire heads the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes market. (Photo by George Sal/Racing Photos)

The Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) will be one of three Group 1 races that will feature on Flemington’s VRC Derby Day program this Saturday afternoon, and a field of 14 runners is expected to do battle down the famous 1200m straight.

As expected, many of Australia’s top trainers have a runner engaged in the 2024 Coolmore Stud Stakes, with the likes of Ciaron Maher, Chris Waller and James Cummings training the key market favourites.

Leading the market with horse racing bookmakers is the Group 1 Everest placegetter Growing Empire ($4.20), who already has two Group 1 placings to his name and has been nothing short of impressive in his first racing preparation.

The Ciaron Maher-trained colt will regain the services of Mark Zahra, who is seeking to remain unbeaten aboard the son of Zoustar in four rides.

Hailing from the Godolphin yard, Traffic Warden ($4) will enter the Coolmore fresh off an unfortunate scratching at the barriers prior to The Everest.

The son of Street Boss will be five weeks between runs, and his last start runner-up finish behind Broadsiding in the Group 1 Golden Rose reads very well for this $2 million contest.

Switzerland ($5) put pay to his rivals in the Group 2 Roman Consul Stakes at Rosehill on October 12, and he appears to have found his outstanding two-year-old form when he won three on the bounce and headed into the Golden Slipper as one of the key chances.

The two fillies entered in the Coolmore sit on the fourth and fifth lines of betting, with Lady Of Camelot ($8) and Bellatrix Star ($13) well-respected in the market.

Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott have entered Lady Of Camelot in three straight open-age Group 1 races to kick off her campaign, and now she will drop back to her own age group after finishing fourth in The Everest, only a head off Growing Empire.

Mark Walker and Blake Shinn will combine with Bellatrix Star, who has taken the sprinting ranks by storm since making her way over from New Zealand.

The daughter of Star Witness brought up a winning hat-trick with her barnstorming finish in the Group 2 Schillaci Stakes at Caulfield to beat the older horses in her ninth career start.

The chances don’t end there, as First Settler ($15) and Bittercreek ($34) are also expected to feature prominently at double-figure odds with online racing betting sites.

The Coolmore Stud Stakes will be race six on the Flemington card and is scheduled to jump at 3:40pm AEDT.