Santa Ana Lane topweight for Stradbroke
High-class sprinter Santa Ana Lane heads the weights for the Group One Stradbroke Handicap.
Santa Ana Lane has been made topweight for his bid to win the Stradbroke Handicap for a second time.
The Anthony Freedman-trained sprinter has been handicapped on 58.5kg, up 3kg on his win in 2018.
Santa Ana Lane has since added two more elite-level victories to his record but the seven-year-old has been absent from the winners’ circle since last year’s Group One TJ Smith Stakes.
In his most recent appearance, Santa Ana Lane finished sixth behind Godolphin sprinter Trekking in the Group One Goodwood at Morphettville on Saturday.
Trekking, who won the Stradbroke last year with 54kg, has been asked to carry an extra 4kg.
He will need to lump the biggest weight to victory this century if he is to go back-to-back.
Racing Queensland released the weights and ballot order for the Stradbroke on Monday and there were few surprises.
No horse has carried more than 56kg to win the Stradbroke in the past 20 years with the metric weight record of 58kg shared by Rough Habit in 1991 and Campaign King in 1988.
Goldolphin seems certain to have a strong hand with the stable’s other entries including Kementari (55.5kg), Ranier (53kg) Exhilarates (49.5kg), Savatiano (53kg), Lyre (50kg), Best Of Days (53.5kg), Home Of The Brave (53.5kg) Haunted (51kgs) and Phaistos (51kg).
Bookmakers have Trekking as the new favourite for the 1400m race at Eagle Farm on June 6.
Dawn Passage, winner of the Hawkesbury Guineas and Inglis 3YO Guineas in Sydney at his past two starts, has 50kg.
Trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, Dawn Passage, heads a trio of three-year-olds tipped to figure down in the weights.
However, Dawn Passage sits at 53rd in the latest order of entry and will need to win a ballot-exempt race to make the field.
Fituese (49.5kg) and Hightail (50kg), winners of stakes races at Rosehill and the Gold Coast respectively on Saturday, are also prominent in latest Stradbroke betting.
Vega One, rated the best Queensland-trained chance, has 52kg.