Only seven runners front up for poorly-timed Percy Sykes Stakes
THE ATC is wanting 18 group one races during The Championships, which is achievable, and the first race to make way should be Saturday’s Percy Sykes Stakes.
The $600,000 group two has attracted only seven two-year-olds and is it really hard to fathom why? It wouldn’t be because the Magic Millions, Golden Slipper and the Sires’ Produce have already been run this season?
We question the decision to host the Percy Sykes Stakes only a week after the Sires’ Produce. The high-quality two-year-olds have either put everything into their Slipper or Sires’ Produce campaigns, so staying in work for another gut-busting run on a heavy Randwick track wouldn’t be advisable.
There are only two Golden Slipper runners in the field and both were likely entered because they’re coming off disappointing efforts where no money was picked up by connections.
The Lindsay Park-trained Formality didn’t handle the heavy conditions in the Golden Slipper when finishing 14th and 24.2 lengths behind She Will Reign. The Fastnet Rock filly will have similar conditions again on Saturday which might not make for good viewing.
It’s the same story for the Michael Freedman-trained Teaspoon which failed to handle the conditions when running even worse in 15th.
We can understand some trainers wanting to keep their juveniles in work through a tough autumn and the rest of the field features the highly-touted Serena Bay, Almanzora and Shoals, but we’re not seeing the best thoroughbred talent there is to offer, so why hold the race during the autumn?
It’s a horrible placement of a horse race which arguably shouldn’t hold group two status. The fact that $600,000 can be offered and only seven runners enter is a big enough statement in itself.
The Percy Sykes Stakes will soon be remembered as the “best of the rest” stakes and looking at the past winners of the sprint, it’s not exactly a Hall of Fame roll call.
2016 winner Missrock has won only one race since winning the Percy Sykes Stakes and that was a moderate sprint race at Flemington. 2015 winner Ottoman was a highly-regarded filly for John O’Shea, but it failed to win another race during its limited career.
2013 winner Everage won the Percy Sykes, which was then known as the Keith Mackay Quality, and it too failed to win another race from its final 11 starts.
Single Style won in 2012 at its third race day start, but the once promising filly won only one more race from its subsequent 14 starts.
There have been some good winners of the race which includes Eloping (2014) and Streama (2011), but the list isn’t long and the Percy Sykes Stakes is one race that doesn’t belong during the Sydney autumn carnival.
On the upside – it should be a good betting affair on Saturday where John O’Shea’s Almanzora has been the best backed runner in the early markets.
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