Golden Eagle 2023 Field & Odds Update: Hawaii Five Oh New Favourite
The Everest graduate Hawaii Five Oh has firmed into favouritism to take out the fifth edition of the $10 million The Golden Eagle(1500m) in Sydney on Saturday for the Waterhouse/Bott stable.
A near capacity field of four-year-old horses faces off in Australian racing’s second richest event at Rosehill Gardens this weekend with Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott chasing their first success in the set weights showdown.
They saddle-up a trio of hopefuls led by their classy I Am Invincible entire Hawaii Five Oh who sits top of the latest Golden Eagle betting markets at $4.20 through Ladbrokes.
Nash Rawiller comes back on the horse who he rode two back for a devastatingly close second in the Group 2 Premiere Stakes (1200m).
Hawaii Five Oh then contested the $20 million The Everest (1200m) and was credible in his sixth-place finish beaten 2.32 lengths coming from a mid-field position.
He is drawn to get a charmed run this weekend from barrier four and looks a big hope fourth-up and fit to return to winning form over further.
“Hawaii Five Oh has some great options from that gate,” co-trainer Adrian Bott told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“He is looking for that additional distance at this point of his preparation.
“He has great tactical speed and from the good draw he could lob outside the leader. He is in great shape.”
The other runners for the stable are at longer odds with the widely-drawn Coin Toss ($101) and NewEndeavour ($81) both rank outsiders in the markets.
The danger occupying the second line of betting is one-time favourite Amelia’s Jewel now out to $4.60 to post her third win from four starts this campaign.
Simon Miller’s Group 1 winning mare travelled from Perth to Melbourne at the start of the spring and enjoyed back-to-back Group 2 victories to kick off her first interstate campaign.
Her latest run had her finishing a disappointing ninth from a wide draw to Attrition in the Group 1 Toorak Handicap (1600m) at Caulfield on October 14.
She is looking to make amends here and looks in a lovely position to do so from barrier five with Damian Lane in the saddle again.
“This is the first time she has had a decent draw in her life,” Amelia Jewel’s owner, Peter Walsh, said.
“She had a bug before the Toorak and was off her feed for a couple of days after it, but she has recovered from it now.
“She worked the best she’s ever worked this morning in Melbourne on her Sydney leg.”
Amelia’s Jewel is one of five mares taking on the boys in this year’s Golden Eagle field looking to become the second female winner of the event along with Colette (2020).
The other best fancied of the girls at single figures is Ken & Bev Kelso’s Kiwi raider Legarto ($8.50) drawn a treat in barrier six for jockey Michael Dee who is preparing to ride Cleveland for Kris Lees in theMelbourne Cup field next Tuesday.
Legarto is a four-year-old daughter of Proisir who is a Group 1 winner already down under having defeated Attrition in the Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m) at Flemington in the autumn.
She has had two subsequent runs at home for a narrow Group 1 third and last start Listed Matamata Cup win over the mile carrying 58.5kg to victory.
At set weights she gets a bit of relief kilo-wise and shapes up as one of the genuine winning hopes.
One of the early market movers backed into $9.50 to complete the hopes currently under $10 for the win is the Keiji Yoshimura-trained Japanese visitor Obamburumai.
The Discreet Cat entire has just his sixth start against the locals and comes into the race a three-time winner in Japan.
He won a Group 2 at 50/1 last November in an upset and added a Group 3 mile win to his record back in mid-April.
At his latest he was ultra-impressive when third in the Group 1 Nhk Mile Cup (1600m) and from barrier two with replacement rider Josh Parr aboard down under can make an impact on the Aussies.
The horse was originally meant to have champion Japanese jockey Yutaka Take aboard but he was kicked by a horse in Tokyo over the weekend suffering a knee injury that saw his plans to ride down under shelved.
The speed is expected to come from the likes of Godolphin’s rails-drawn Pericles and Chris Waller’s Epsom Handicap winner Rediener in gate three.
Rediener is out to become the second Waller-trained four-year-old to complete the Epsom Handicap – Golden Eagle double following the latter’s inaugural champion Kolding back in 2019.
Along with Pericles ($12), who missed the Epsom earlier this prep causing a change of course, trainer James Cummings is also represented by the team’s Caulfield Guineas winner Golden Mile ($31).
Toorak Handicap winner Attrition was officially withdrawn from the Golden Eagle field on Thursday morning with trainer Mitchell Freedman informing stewards the horse had swelling in the right hock, accompanied by lameness.
The James Squire Golden Eagle is scheduled to run as Rosehill Race 8 at 4:45pm (AEDT).
