Group 2 Australia Stakes becomes a Weir-athon with 1/2 the field
Premier Victorian trainer Darren Weir will have three of the six runners in the Group 2 Australia Stakes at Moonee Valley headed by Japanese import Brave Smash.
Friday night’s weight-for-age 1200m sprint is the feature event on the program with Brave Smash set for his first race since his third behind Redzel and Vega Magic in the $10 million Everest at Randwick in October.
Brave Smash, to be ridden by Craig Williams, is familiar with Moonee Valley having won a Listed sprint there in his first Australian campaign last spring.
Weir also has last-start winners Ken’s Dream and Stellar Collision in the race.
Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes runner-up Mr Sneaky will be first-up in the Australia Stakes, while the field also includes Thronum from the Lindsay Park stable and the Peter and Paul Snowden-trained mare Flippant.
The Weir-trained Burning Front headlines a field nine for the $120,000 VOBIS Gold Star (1500m), a race the gelding has won the past two years.