Canterbury Stakes next for in-form Napoleonic
It's been a decade since a three-year-old triumphed in the Canterbury Stakes, but co-trainer Tom Charlton is confident Napoleonic has reached the ideal point in his prep to challenge that statistic.
Holler was the last of his vintage to overcome the older speedsters in 2016, and curiously, he was under the care of Charlton's fellow trainer John O'Shea.
Both secured the Red Anchor Stakes (1200m) at Flemington the spring before, and both approach this Group 1 dropping from 1400m, a pattern Charlton believes benefits Napoleonic on Saturday.
"That should leave him in good stead this weekend," Charlton said.
"He's got good form, he comes into this third-up and, we feel, ready to run the best race of his preparation, which should put him right among the chances."
March 7 has been highlighted on the schedule for Napoleonic for some time, but his second place in the Hobartville Stakes (1400m) confirmed his race choice.
The Randwick Guineas (1600m) was also considered by O'Shea and Charlton, though they opted for the snappier distance.
"We always had this race day as a plan, and we were just going to work out whether it was Randwick Guineas or Canterbury Stakes," Charlton said.
"His last run was excellent, but we concluded the best option would be coming back to the 1300, rather than try to stretch him to a Randwick mile."
Notwithstanding the absence of three-year-old winners lately in the Canterbury Stakes (1300m), Napoleonic will line up with Beiwacht and Nepotism from the same age group.
O'Shea and Charlton's strong contingent also features resuming stars Linebacker, the 2024 Randwick Guineas champion, and Yorkshire, winner of The Ingham.
They chase Doncaster Mile glory, Yorkshire overcoming a minor issue that scratched him from the Liverpool City Cup last weekend, while Linebacker has targeted this as his seasonal debut.
Scintillation, the juvenile, skips Randwick following a poor draw in the Reisling Stakes (1200m).
Instead, per Charlton, she heads to the Group 3 Ottawa Stakes (1000m) at Flemington on the day.
"She's going to run in Melbourne. Just the draw was a bit tricky in Sydney on Saturday.
"She did a good job on debut. She's a nice, racy filly and hopefully we can get some black type.
Check the latest online bookmakers for racing betting markets on the Canterbury Stakes.
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