Trainer to take on big guns
The Age
Tuesday October 6, 2009
ALL the big guns are likely to accept today for Saturday's $1 million Caulfield Guineas.The top three-year-old colts still remain in the 30-strong line-up, including the unbeaten Darley-owned Denman, the talented Trusting, the highly touted Manhattan Rain, and Bart Cummings' representative So You Think.Add to this quartet the in-form colts Carrara and Starspangledbanner and you have a group of rising stars capable of scaring off more than a few rivals, a fact not lost on South Australian trainer David Balfour.But, with the possibility of a lucrative boost to the pedigree of his colt River's Lane on the line, Balfour said the group 1 Guineas was not a race to run away from."I'd say it's the strongest Guineas in 20 years. It's a really, really good field and you couldn't knock any of them but we're keen to take our chance," he said.Despite having only moderate form compared to the top six in the Guineas market, Balfour said accepting for the Guineas with River's Lane was a "no brainer". Regarded as one of the stallion-making races, victory €” or even a placing €” would be a boon for River's Lane's owners who have a two-year-old full brother as well as younger relations to the Street Cry colt at home in Adelaide.But Balfour won't know until the 10am declarations whether his horse has gained a start in the field of 16 plus four emergencies. River's Lane was last night 22nd on the order of entry.He hopes that an attrition rate in the wake of last Saturday's bog track at Randwick helps to trim the final field."We've still go to make the field but we're definitely accepting for it," he said. "His run in the Stutt Stakes was good considering it was his first time at night, first time at the Valley, and that he was jumping from 1200 to 1600 metres."Boosting Balfour's prospects on Saturday is the booking of in-form jockey Nick Hall, fresh from his maiden group 1 victory in last Saturday's Turnbull Stakes."Greg [Hall, Nick's father] rode two group 1 winners for me before I left for Singapore. He won the 1990 Goodwood with Beau George and the 1991 Sires' Produce with No Related. I'm hoping we have as much luck with young Nick," Balfour said.Steven Arnold rode River's Lane in the Stutt Stakes but has elected to ride one-time Guineas favourite Tickets, who scored a strong win at Flemington last Saturday.
© 2009 The Age
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