Realm Of Flowers, Francesco Guardi Stake Cup Claim

Christmas is here and the racing season kicked off last Saturday with two big Group 1 meetings at Randwick and Flemington. This week's Follow Files focuses on the races at those two meetings.

Character finished 4th in the race. James Cummings-trained horse was being held in by Riddle Me That until about the 200m mark. Most observers believe Character could have won the event.

Character is nominated for the Toorak Handicap over 1600m this weekend at Caulfield. Godolphin team also has a nomination for Golden Eagle at Rosehill Gardens on October 29 over 1500m. Francesco Guardi came second in the Stake Cup. He is a son of Frankel.

Francesco Guardi is a good bet for Chris Waller. He is nominated for the Five Diamonds 1800m event at Rosehill Gardens on November 5. If he does well, he will be put in the Hotham Stakes on Derby Day.

Realm Of Flowers finished third at Randwick on Saturday. She was one of the best horses in defeat all day. The daughter of So You Think was in a ding-dong battle with race winner No Compromise and second-placegetter Le Don De Vie.

Realm Of Flowers is a contender for the Melbourne Cup. She currently sits at 30 in the order of entry. If she runs before the Cup in a race over 2400m-plus on a Soft track, she is definitely a bet.