Stellar Field to Contest Gr1 NZB Memsie Stakes

A high-quality field of 11 has been attracted for the Group 1 A$400,000 New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield Racecourse on Saturday, with nine of the 11 horses having performed at Group 1 level.

Kiwi mare Silent Achiever (NZ) contests the Group 1 NZB Memsie Stakes at Caulfield this Saturday.

The New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes, Australia’s first Group 1 of the season, is the second leg of the New Zealand Bloodstock Spring Weight-For-Age Championship at Melbourne Racing Club’s Caulfield Racecourse.

Over half of the field are Group 1 winners including kiwi mare Silent Achiever (NZ) (O’Reilly), the equal highest rated horse in the race. The Roger James trained mare is a four-time Group 1 winner with three of those wins coming in succession earlier this year. Damien Oliver has his first ride on the mare and she has drawn barrier 3.

Equal with Silent Achiever as the highest rated horse in the field is Boban (Bernardini), a triple Group 1 winner last season. The five-year-old has gone to a new level since joining the Chris Waller stable and is heading to Melbourne in search of a dry track. Regular rider Glyn Schofield will once again be aboard, starting from barrier 9.

Carrying the number one saddle cloth will be Happy Trails (Good Journey), the winner of last spring’s Group 1 Turnbull Stakes and runner-up in the Group 1 Cox Plate. Back in the care of Paul Beshara, Happy Trails will start from barrier 2 with Michael Rodd engaged to ride.

Course and distance specialist Moment of Change (Barely a Moment) has won three Group 1 races over 1400m at Caulfield for the trainer & jockey combination of Peter Moody and Luke Nolan. Undefeated in four starts on the track, Moody and Nolan will look to maintain that record as the gelding starts from barrier 9 in Saturday’s feature event.

Group 1 Australian Cup winner Super Cool (Fastnet Rock) is one of four runners racing in a fresh state. The son of boom sire Fastnet Rock finished third in this race last year, one of two Group 1 placings at Caulfield last season for trainer Mark Kavanagh. Leading jockey Glen Boss takes the ride from barrier 7.

Consistent galloper Sertorius (Galileo) has a good fresh record, winning twice and being placed four times from eight attempts. The Jamie Edwards & Bruce Elkington trained gelding was second behind Moment of Change earlier this year in the Group 1 Futurity Stakes at Caulfield in a fresh state. Craig Williams returns from a stint riding internationally to take the mount from the outside barrier.

French import Puissance de Lune (Shamardal) has a solitary point in the NZB Spring WFA Championship following his fresh-up sixth placing in the Group 2 P.B. Lawrence Stakes. The dual Group 1 placegetter has an impressive record winning eight of his 19 starts for trainer Darren Weir and will start from inside barrier for rider Brad Rawiller.

Rising star Messene (Lonhro) has worked through the grades winning nine of his 14 starts including a Group 2 victory in the Ajax Stakes this year. Trained by team Hawkes, Messene is second-up and has won twice and been placed second from three starts in that state. Dwayne Dunn has picked up the ride, drawing barrier 4.

Group 1 winning three-year-old Dissident (Sebring) is having his first run as a four-year-old for trainer Peter Moody. The son of exciting young sire Sebring has the services of Ben Mehlam and will start from barrier 5 on his home track.

Currently third in the NZB Spring WFA Championship is Gig (Commands) following her third placing in the Group 2 P.B. Lawrence Stakes. The Shawn Mathrick trained mare is hard-fit having raced throughout the winter and starts from barrier 6 for jockey Vlad Duric.

Four-year-old mare Sweet Idea (Snitzel) gets a slight weight advantage over her old rivals in the weight-for-age event. The Gai Waterhouse trained mare showed great determination to beat a quality field fresh up in the Group 2 Missile Stakes in Sydney. Craig Newitt has his first ride on the mare and will begin from barrier 10.

Star Rolling currently heads the NZB Spring WFA Championship Leaderboard, sitting on 10 points thanks to his victory in the Group 2 P.B. Lawrence Stakes. The full Leaderboard can be viewed here.

Another 10 points will be awarded to the winner of the Group 1 New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes with points distributed back to eighth place. Horses are competing for A$1.37 million in prizemoney plus trophies to the value of $25,000 during the Championship.

The New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes is schedule to run at 4.40pm AEST and the full field can be viewed here.