Cummings breaks down Godolphin’s Championship day one competitors
After claiming almost every major race across the last 12 months Godolphin head trainer James Cummings is again set to dominate The Championships as the stable takes in one of its strongest ever line ups into Saturday.
Fresh off a dominant performance by the stable in the Group 1 Golden Slipper Cummings believes his trio of runners Kiamichi, Microphone and Tenley will be highly competitive in the Group 1 Sires’ Produce Stakes.
Cummings believes in particular Tenley has a point to prove after a disappointing Slipper performance.
“She has the opportunity to restore her credibility by competing back on top of the ground and at 1400m,” he said.
“Importantly, she came out of the Golden Slipper unharmed and she’s capable of making up ground on her stablemates. Anyone who has been paying attention would know how likely it looked that she would be one of our Sires’ Produce top picks.”
Tenley is a $9 hope at online bookmaker Ladbrokes to win the 2019 Sires’ Produce Stakes.
Fresh off his barnstorming win in the Slipper, Cummings thinks Kiamichi has the ability to handle the rise in distance in the Sires’ Produce.
“Her strength at 1200m should see her develop into a capable filly at 1400m and her training suggests that she has continued to thrive as this preparation unfolds.”
Kiamichi is at $10 to win with the online bookmakers the Sires’ Produce.
The one race the boys in blue won’t have a strange hold on this year is the Group 1 Australian Derby.
Aramayo ($21) Cossetot ($26 with online bookmaker Sportsbet) are both outsiders in a competitive Australian Derby market but Cummings believes both horses could surprise on Saturday.
“He (Aramayo) looks to be warming up to a peak performance, which we’re going to need to see from him here. Although he is unplaced in his past couple of runs, he can be forgiven as we anticipate he has been looking for this distance.
Cossetot is only a week removed from a third placing in the Group 2 Tulloch Stakes but the head trainer is confident it could play into the gelding’s hands in the Derby.
“(Cossetot is) the winner of the Tasmanian Derby and he keeps getting stronger as he gets further into what has been a testing preparation.
“The seven-day back-up will be interesting, but all those miles he’s got in his legs could prove to be to his advantage.”
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Last year’s Everest place getter Osbourne Bulls is the sole Godolphin representative in this year’s edition of the TJ Smith Stakes.
The star sprinter shocked the racing world when he stormed down the outside to claim third in the 2018 Everest and Cummings believes that experience will hold the gelding in good stead.
“Osborne Bulls has been quietly burning along since his storming effort to grab second in the Newmarket,” he said.
“He was OK last week in a quiet trial, but it will be interesting to see him back at Randwick for the first time since he ran third in The Everest. He will have the highest calibre of sprinters from all over the land in his sights, so we’re looking forward to seeing him produce that lethal finish.”
Osbourne Bulls is at $4.50 with online bookmaker Bet 365.
In the final Group 1 of the day stablemates Alizee and Hartnell confront what could be the best Doncaster Mile field in the last decade.
Hartnell ($9) and Alizee ($7) are favoured with the online bookmakers to deliver another major race to the trophy cabinet, but Cummings thinks the toughest test for the pair will be at the bottom of the weights.
“The market says we should be terrified of the horses at the bottom of the weights,” he said.
Still, Cummings cannot put a line through his pair given their star quality.
“We expect (Alizee) to be fully wound up despite having missed last week’s race.
“While she’ll need to be strong enough to carry the burden of 56.5kg on the strength of impressive Group 1 form over her past two campaigns, her affinity for the Randwick mile can’t be underestimated.
Hartnell will be strong at the finish and he’s capable of carrying the topweight as he has proven in the past.”
“He’s the Epsom winner over this course and distance from last spring and he carried that excellent form forward to his storming second at weight-for-age over the mile at Flemington last time out.”