Victory Stakes tips, form and preview | Eagle Farm Feature 1/5

Victory Stakes Tip - Trekking must be kept safe in the Victory Stakes

What Victory Stakes Preview
Where Eagle Farm Racecourse
When Race 8 | 3:49pm | Saturday May 1, 2021
Prizemoney $250,000
Distance 1200m
Status Group 2
Race Conditions Weight For Age
2020 Winner Victorem (3) – 56.5kg | Trainer: Jenny Graham | Jockey: Mark Du Plessis

One of the feature races at Eagle Farm on Saturday is the Group 2 Victory Stakes to be run over 1200m. The $250,000 sprint has seen some elite horses like Buffering, Srikandi, Fell Swoop and Impending win over the years, with this race proving to be a stepping stone towards the Doomben 10,000, Kingsford Smith Cup and Stradbroke Handicap. The 2019 Stradbroke Handicap winner, Trekking tops the market, ahead of Fasika, Emerald Kingdom, Niccanova and Vega One. There will be plenty of speed early with Fasika, The Odyssey, Master Jamie, Emerald Kingdom and Stampe all likely to vie for the lead.


Under Weight For Age conditions it makes it very hard to go past the sole Group 1 winner in the field and that is of course Trekking. The Godolphin runner won the Stradbroke Handicap in 2019 and the Goodwood Handicap at Morphettville last year, so a Group 2 Victory Stakes looks well within his reach. The son of Street Cry cruised to a five length trial win at Hawkesbury on April 19 which will have brought him on beautifully for this first-up assignment. Hugh Bowman had a big Autumn Carnival and will serve a 17-day suspension after Saturday, so he will be hoping to make the most of his time in the saddle before his stint on the sidelines. Drawn barrier three, Trekking will be a touch worse than midfield and can be finishing home over the top of a strong tempo. First-up at 1200m is perfect for the six-year-old.


Tony Gollan’s four-year-old Garibaldi was 22 months between his first and second win, but he has since gone four straight and progressed through the grades nicely from two Class 2 wins, a Class 3 and then a dominant 4.75 length victory at Class 6 level. This is a big step up for a horse to take, especially at weight-for-age against some proven group horses, but his recent trial win in open company suggested he is ready for the challenge. Michael Rodd will do the steering from the outside alley which will have him outside Trekking in the run and coming down the centre of the track. This is no doubt his acid test, but he needs to perform highly to be competitive in Group 1 sprints over the carnival. It is worth noting he has also accepted in Race 9, a Class 6 Plate over 1200m where he has also drawn the outside barrier.


A sentence we never thought we would say is Master Jamie was run off his legs, but that was the case when first-up over the 1000m in the Listed Ascot Handicap at Eagle Farm. The Rockhampton-based four-year-old looked as if he was going to drop out and finish closer to last than first, but he picked up over the final 100m to only be beaten 0.6 lengths. He looked to have grown a bit over his time in the paddock and would have no doubt needed the first-up run, so he should be fitter second-up and out to 1200m. He has drawn wide in gate nine, but he has plenty of gate speed to either cross and lead or sit outside and we know how tough he is so he can stick on in the final stages. He has already guaranteed his spot in the Stradbroke, so he doesn’t need to win, but we expect him to be right there in the finish.


Best bet for 2021 Victory Stakes

$100 betting strategy
$100 win Trekking

Victory Stakes odds comparison

[rmOC_events_list event_ids=1368160_08]

More horse racing tips

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments