Caulfield WFA Championship Heats Up
28 August 2019
The intensity is about to go up a notch in the 2019 New Zealand Bloodstock Caulfield WFA Championship, with all three of the remaining races run at Group 1 level – starting with Saturday’s A$1 million New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes (1400m).
The current Championship leader, the Group 2 P.B. Lawrence Stakes winner Mystic Journey (Needs Further), is bypassing the first Group 1 of the Melbourne spring. But an outstanding Memsie Stakes field has been assembled, with the potential for major moves up the points table.
P.B. Lawrence Stakes placegetters Cliff’s Edge (Canford Cliffs) and Hartnell (Authorized) are back again on Saturday. They are currently sitting in second and third positions on the table with 8 and 6 points respectively, and they are poised to pounce. A top-five finish by either horse would move them ahead of Mystic Journey in the standings.
There are also some spectacular newcomers to this year’s Series, such as last year’s Memsie Stakes winner Humidor (NZ) (Teofilo), three-time Group 1 winner Alizee (Sepoy), and the up-and-comer Begood Toya Mother (Myboycharlie), an impressive winner of his last six in a row.
With Humidor, Hartnell and Black Heart Bart (Blackfriars) all among the 13-horse line-up, the 2019 New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes will feature all of the last three Caulfield WFA Championship winners.
The winner of the New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes will receive 10 points in the New Zealand Bloodstock Caulfield WFA Championship, with 8 points for second and 6 for third. The fourth placegetter will earn 4 points, with 3 points for fifth and 1 point for the sixth, seventh and eighth placegetters.
The remaining two races in the Series are the A$750,000 Group 1 Underwood Stakes (1800m) on September 29 and the A$1 million Caulfield Stakes (2000m) on October 12.
The New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes will be run as Race 8 at Caulfield on Saturday with a start time of 4:50pm (6:50pm NZT).
| # | Horse | Draw | Comments | Trainer | Jockey |
| 1 | Hartnell | 1 | The winner of the NZB Caulfield WFA Championship two years ago, Hartnell (Authorized) has won 13 races and more than A$7 million. Alongside Group 1 victories in the BMW (2400m), Epsom Handicap (1600m), Turnbull Stakes (2000m) and CF Orr Stakes (1400m), he has also been placed in 12 Group 1 races including the Melbourne Cup (3200m), Cox Plate (2040m) and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m). He finished third in the first leg of this Series, the Group 2 P.B. Lawrence Stakes (1400m). | James Cummings | Craig Williams |
| 2 | Black Heart Bart | 9 | Black Heart Bart (Blackfriars) won this race, and the NZB Caulfield WFA Championship, in the spring of 2016. He has earned A$3.99 million in his 53-start career. This is his first start since last October, but he won a recent trial at Cranbourne. | Lindsey Smith | Brad Rawiller |
| 3 | Humidor | 10 | Kiwi-bred Humidor (NZ) (Teofilo) won this race last year en route to the NZB Caulfield WFA Championship title. That was one of three Group 1 wins in his career, having also won the Australian Cup (2000m) and the Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m). He has also placed behind the champion Winx (Street Cry) in the last two runnings of the prestigious Cox Plate (2040m). | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Damian Lane |
| 4 | Material Man | 12 | Material Man (Vital Equine) began his career in Perth, where he won 14 races including the Group 2 Perth Cup (2400m) and six other stakes events. He has also placed at Group 1 level three times. He has had six starts in Melbourne, including a close sixth in last season's Group 1 C.F. Orr Stakes (1400m) over the same course and distance as the Memsie. | Pat Carey | Rhys McLeod |
| 5 | Scales Of Justice | 5 | The winner of the 2016 Railway Stakes (1600m) in Perth, Scales Of Justice (Not a Single Doubt) has returned from a long lay-off in strong form. He won the Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on July 27, then finished second in the Group 3 Spring Stakes (1200m) in Adelaide. | Lindsey Smith | Dean Yendall |
| 6 | Cliff's Edge | 2 | Cliff's Edge (Canford Cliffs) has won eight of his 24 starts, including two at Group 2 level and two at Group 3. The million-dollar earner has placed in another five black-type races, including a last-start second in the Group 2 P.B. Lawrence Stakes (1400m). | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Mark Zahra |
| 7 | Despatch | 8 | Written Tycoon gelding Despatch was a star performer last season, winning four races including the Group 1 Goodwood (1200m) in Adelaide. Overall, he has won seven of his 13 races. He was a last-start fourth in the Group 3 Spring Stakes (1200m). | Tony McEvoy | Jamie Kah |
| 8 | So Si Bon | 3 | The enigmatic So Si Bon (So You Think) was back at his very best last start, recording the third win of his 38-start career with an outstanding performance in the Group 3 Aurie's Star (1200m) at Flemington. He was a Group 1 performer over this course and distance earlier in this career, finishing third in the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) in October 2017. | David & Ben Hayes & Tom Dabernig | Luke Nolen |
| 9 | Begood Toya Mother | 13 | Begood Toya Mother (Myboycharlie) is a potential emerging star of Australian racing, having strung together six consecutive victories including a last-start win in the Listed Regal Roller Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield. This is his first start in a Group race. | Daniel Bowman | Declan Bates |
| 10 | Sesar | 7 | A son of Sebring, Sesar was a multiple Group winner in 2018 in the Ken Russell Memorial Classic (1200m) on the Gold Coast and the Roman Consul Stakes (1200m) in Sydney. He was also fourth in the Group 1 J.J. Atkins (1600m). He was a last-start placegetter in the Group 3 Aurie's Star (1200m). | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | Dwayne Dunn |
| 11 | Alizee | 11 | Godolphin mare Alizee (Sepoy) has proven her class with Group 1 victories in the Flight Stakes (1600m) and Queen of the Turf Stakes (1600m) in Sydney, and last season's Futurity Stakes (1400m) over the same course and distance as the Memsie. She also placed in the inaugural A$5 million All Star Mile (1600m) at Flemington. The winner of nine of her 21 starts and more than A$2.3 million, Alizee resumed with a victory in the Group 2 Missile Stakes (1200m) in Sydney. | James Cummings | Damien Oliver |
| 12 | Oohood | 6 | Oohood (I Am Invincible) emerged as one of Australia's best juveniles of her year, placing in the Group 1 Blue Diamond (1200m), Golden Slipper (1200m) and Sires' Produce Stakes (1400m). She carried on the same way as a three-year-old last spring, winning the Group 1 Flight Stakes (1600m) and placing in the Caulfield Guineas (1600m). She began this preparation with a seventh in the Group 3 Aurie's Star (1200m). | Tony McEvoy | Luke Currie |
| 13 | Fundamentalist | 4 | Fundamentalist (Not a Single Doubt) is another perennial Group 1 performer, having placed in last season's Thousand Guineas (1600m), Empire Rose Stakes (1600m), Surround Stakes (1400m) and Randwick Guineas (1600m). She resumed with an eye-catching third behind Begood Toya Mother in the Regal Roller Stakes (1200m). | David & Ben Hayes & Tom Dabernig | Michael Walker |