NZB Caulfield Spring WFA Championship Heats Up
29 August 2018
Following an exciting first leg of the New Zealand Bloodstock Caulfield Spring WFA Championship, an even bigger clash looms on Saturday in Melbourne’s first Group 1 race of the 2018-19 season – the A$1 million New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes (1400m).
In a blanket finish to the Group 2 P.B. Lawrence Stakes (1400m) two weeks ago, Showtime (Snitzel) claimed victory by a long neck from the defending champion Hartnell (Authorized). Widgee Turf (Turffontein) was another neck away in third, while Kings Will Dream (Casamento), Grunt (NZ) (O’Reilly) and Jungle Edge (Dubawi) all finished within a length of the winner.
Showtime, Kings Will Dream, Grunt and Jungle Edge are back for a rematch in Saturday’s Memsie, where they will be joined by last year’s winner Vega Magic (Lope de Vega), the Group 1-winning Godolphin star Kementari (Lonhro) and the multiple Group 1 winner Happy Clapper (Teofilo).
The exciting match-up is the second of four legs in the NZB Caulfield Spring WFA Championship Series. The third leg is the A$750,000 Group 1 Underwood Stakes (1800m) on September 30, then the Series concludes with the A$1 million Group 1 Caulfield Stakes (2000m) on October 13.
The Memsie Stakes is Race 7 on Saturday with a start time of 4.10pm (6.10pm NZT).
| # | Horse | Draw | Comments | Trainer | Jockey |
| 1 | Happy Clapper | 7 | Outstanding Teofilo gelding Happy Clapper has won 11 of his 35 starts and more than A$6.3 million in stakes. He has won three Group Ones, and his seven Group One placings include four behind the wonder mare Winx. This is his first start since April, and he has won four of his 10 first-up appearances. | Pat Webster | Mark Zahra |
| 2 | Black Heart Bart | 4 | Black Heart Bart (Blackfriars) won the NZB Caulfield Spring WFA Championship in 2016 and finished second last year. The winner of 16 races and more than A$3.9 million in prize-money, he was only three lengths from the winner when ninth in the Lawrence Stakes. | Darren Weir | Brad Rawiller |
| 3 | Vega Magic | 6 | The defending Memsie Stakes champion, Vega Magic (Lope de Vega) has won 13 of his 22 starts and earned more than A$3.6 million. He was also second in the inaugural A$10 million Everest (1200m) last year. He resumed with a three-length win in the Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes (1200m) on July 28. | David & Ben Hayes & Tom Dabernig | Damien Oliver |
| 4 | Humidor | 3 | Bred and part-owned in New Zealand, Humidor (NZ) (Teofilo) is a dual Group 1 winner and was a close second to Winx in last year's Cox Plate (2040m). He has earned more than A$2.8 million in prize-money. He was eighth in the Lawrence Stakes first-up, 2.85 lengths from the winner. | Darren Weir | Damian Lane |
| 5 | Jungle Edge | 5 | The winner of 14 races and more than A$1 million in prize-money, Jungle Edge (Dubawi) has run two strong races at Caulfield in his last two starts. He was third behind Vega Magic in the Bletchingly Stakes, then sixth and only 1.1 lengths from the winner in the Lawrence Stakes. | Mick Bell | Kevin Forrester |
| 6 | Dollar For Dollar | 9 | High Chapparal gelding Dollar For Dollar is stepping up to the big time following an impressive last-start win in the Group 3 Spring Stakes (1200m) in Adelaide. | Tony McEvoy | Jamie Kah |
| 7 | Kings Will Dream | 11 | The current favourite for the Caulfield Cup (2400m) in October, Kings Will Dream (Casamento) caught the eye with a huge finish for fourth in the Lawrence Stakes two weeks ago. | Darren Weir | John Allen |
| 8 | Kementari | 8 | Randwick Guineas winner Kementari (Lonhro) combines with Hartnell to give Godolphin a strong hand in this year's Memsie. The classy four-year-old's two starts this season have produced a second in the Group 2 Missile Stakes (1200m) and fourth in the Group 1 Winx Stakes (1600m). | James Cummings | Glyn Schofield |
| 9 | Grunt | 1 | Karaka graduate Grunt (NZ) (O'Reilly) was unbeaten as a three-year-old last season, winning four races including the Group 3 C.S. Hayes Stakes (1400m) and Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m). He resumed with a close fifth in the Lawrence Stakes. | Mick Price | Luke Currie |
| 10 | Showtime | 2 | The current series leader is Showtime (Snitzel), who earned 10 points with his stylish Lawrence Stakes victory over Hartnell and Widgee Turf two weeks ago. A dual Group 1 placegetter earlier this year, he is now chasing his first win at the elite level. | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | Dwayne Dunn |
| 11 | Oregon's Day | 10 | Domesday mare Oregon's Day claimed a career-best win in the Group 2 Hollindale Stakes (1800m) at the Gold Coast in May. She has also been placed at Group 1 level, and she was a close fifth last start in the Listed Regal Roller Stakes (1200m). | Mick Price | Michael Dee |