Five million reasons to pay attention
A $5 million purse. Thirteen slots at $200,000 a pop. The best sprinters in the country have flown west and the locals aren't planning to roll over.
The Quokka is Saturday's Race 8 at Ascot, 1200 metres, weight-for-age on a Good track. Last year Jokers Grin became the first locally trained winner. This year the raiders have come loaded!
Race 8: The BYD Quokka ($5M, 1200m WFA)
Jigsaw ($3.90) is chasing a seventh straight win. Let that sit for a second. Seven. The Cindy Alderson-trained mare won the G1 William Reid at Caulfield last start and the G1 Sistema Railway in New Zealand the start before. Logan Bates rides from barrier 13, which on paper looks awkward, but Jigsaw has the early speed to cross and find the front. If she leads, she'll take catching.
Rey Magnerio ($4.60) is the local hope with the best credentials. William Pike rides for Robbie Griffiths, and the horse was 1.4 lengths behind Jigsaw in the William Reid first-up. Second-up patterns say improvement. Pike knows Ascot like no one else.
Caballus ($5.00) won the G1 Newmarket Handicap at $19 on March 7 for Bjorn Baker. Tommy Berry flies west from Sydney. That Newmarket win was no fluke. The horse has serious gate speed and barrier 9 is workable.
Behind the big three, I'm watching Jedibeel ($12) who ran second in the G1 Galaxy at Rosehill, Spywire ($16) from the Ciaron Maher stable with John Allen aboard, and Smooth Chino ($7.00) who has Mark Zahra making the trip. Four jockeys flying from the eastern states for one 1200m sprint tells you everything about how seriously the rest of the country is taking this race.
If Jigsaw leads, I reckon she wins. If something pressures her early, watch Rey Magnerio closing late under Pike. The value play? Caballus at $5. He's proven at G1 level, drawn OK, and Tommy Berry will have him rolling forward. I'd be having a serious look.
Race 7: Karrakatta Plate (G2, $500K, 1200m)
The two-year-old feature before the Quokka and this looks like a match race. Aurum Belle ($2.80) has won all three career starts, leading and kicking clear every time. She's run faster than the meeting average in each of those wins. Brad Parnham knows exactly what to do from barrier 16 (after emergencies scratch she'll move in).
Maria Lucia ($3.80) from the Sean and Jake Casey yard gets blinkers for the first time. She's the danger. Beatty ($5.50) has Pike aboard from barrier 1 and that combination always demands respect.
I'm siding with Aurum Belle. Three from three, all on the speed, all dominant. Unless something pressures her hard in the first 400m, she'll control this from the front.
The rest of the card
Ten races at Ascot and the first six are the lead-up acts. Race 4 (MC Polytrack Handicap, $80k, 1800m) and Race 5 (Singapore Pools Trophy, $80k, 1600m) are worth a look for punters chasing value before the features. Race 9, the Drummond Golf Joey ($200k, 1200m), is the sprint for the horses one rung below Quokka level.
Good track, good weather forecast, good card. Get there early. The Quokka goes at 3:45pm local time and if you're watching from the east coast, that's 5:45pm AEST. Set your alarm.
