Exciting Finale to NZB Caulfield WFA Championship
10 October 2019
The 2019 New Zealand Bloodstock Caulfield WFA Championship is set to go right down to the wire in Saturday’s fourth and final leg, the A$1 million Group One Ladbrokes Caulfield Stakes (2000m).
Depending on Saturday’s result, any one of four horses could be crowned the winner of this year’s Championship.
Hartnell (Authorized) tops the table with 14 points. He has gone winless through this year’s Series, but finished third in the Group Two P.B. Lawrence Stakes (1400m), fourth in the Group One New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes (1600m) and fourth in the Group One Underwood Stakes (1800m).
The result of this year’s Championship is now out of Hartnell’s hands, with the A$7 million earner bypassing Saturday’s race.
The horses trying to take his place at the top of the points table are Black Heart Bart (Blackfriars), Gailo Chop (Deportivo) and Homesman (War Front).
Eighth in the Memsie Stakes, Black Heart Bart took his total to 11 points with a superb last-start victory in the Underwood Stakes. Homesman and Gailo Chop were second and third in that race, earning 8 and 6 points respectively.
With 10 points available to the winner of Saturday’s Caulfield Stakes, the Caulfield WFA Championship title is very much up for grabs. There are also 8 points available for second, 6 for third, 4 for fourth, 3 for fifth and 1 point each for sixth, seventh and eighth.
Saturday’s field also features some well-credentialled newcomers to the Series. Avilius (Pivotal) has won three Group One races in Sydney in 2019, while overseas raiders Suzuka Devious (King Kamehameha), Dream Castle (Frankel) and Danceteria (Redoute’s Choice) are making their Australian debuts.
The Ladbrokes Caulfield Stakes will be run as Race 7 on Saturday with a start time of 3:50pm (5:50pm NZT) preview the field below and view the leaderboard here.
| # | Horse | Draw | Comments | Trainer | Jockey |
| 1 | Black Heart Bart | 9 | The winner of the NZB Caulfield WFA Championship in 2016, Black Heart Bart (Blackfriars) later went two years without a win and his career appeared to be over. But instead he made a remarkable comeback, winning last month's Group 1 Underwood Stakes (1800m). It was his sixth Group 1 victory and took his career earnings past A$4 million. | Lindsey Smith | Brad Rawiller |
| 2 | Gailo Chop | 1 | Gailo Chop (Deportivo) has performed with credit at the elite level in France and the United States, but it is in Australia that he has enjoyed his greatest success, winning the Group 1 Mackinnon Stakes (2000m), Ranvet Stakes (2000m) and Caulfield Stakes (2000m) and placing in four other Group 1 races. He was a last-start third behind Black Heart Bart in the Underwood Stakes. | Matthew Williams | Damien Oliver |
| 3 | Humidor | 4 | Former New Zealander Humidor (NZ) (Teofilo) has starred in previous Melbourne spring carnivals, winning the Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) and Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) and placing behind champion mare Winx (Street Cry) in the last two editions of the Cox Plate (2040m). He won last year's NZB Caulfield WFA Championship. He has been below his best so far this spring, finishing 10th in the Memsie Stakes, Makybe Diva Stakes and Underwood Stakes. | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | John Allen |
| 4 | Suzuka Devious | 3 | Japanese raider Suzuka Devious (King Kamehameha) has won six of his 40 starts including the Group 3 Niigata Daishoten (2000m) and Listed Shirafuji Stakes (2000m). He has placed in six other black-type races. This is his first Australian start. | Mitsuru Hashida | Michael Dee |
| 5 | Avilius | 7 | Godolphin's Avilius (Pivotal) looked like a future staying star with his victory in the Group 3 Bart Cummings (2500m) at Flemington 12 months ago. But since then he has become a standout weight-for-age performer, winning the Group 1 Ranvet Stakes (2000m), Tancred Stakes (2400m), and last month's George Main Stakes (1600m). | James Cummings | Kerrin McEvoy |
| 6 | Harlem | 5 | Harlem (Champs Elysees) is a proven weight-for-age performer at this distance, being a two-time winner of the Group 1 Australian Cup (2000m). After finishing last in his first two starts this season, he ran a much-improved sixth in the Underwood Stakes. | David & Ben Hayes & Tom Dabernig | Dwayne Dunn |
| 7 | Homesman | 2 | Homesman (War Front) won last year's Underwood Stakes and finished second in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m). He made a powerful start to his 2019 spring campaign, scoring a dominant victory in the Group 2 Feehan Stakes (1600m). His only other appearance was a second placing behind Black Heart Bart in the Underwood Stakes. | Liam Howley | Ben Melham |
| 8 | Gatting | 11 | The largely unheralded Gatting (Hard Spun) took his career to new heights in last month's Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m), scoring a stunning victory at 100-to-one odds. His next start was in the Underwood Stakes, in which he finished a solid fifth. | Darren Mcauliffe | Jamie Kah |
| 9 | Dream Castle | 10 | A second Godolphin runner in this field, Dream Castle (Frankel) will line up for his Australian debut. He has had 16 starts for four wins, headed by the Group 1 Jebel Hatta (1800m) at Meydan in March of this year. Last year's Jebel Hatta winner was fellow Godolphin horse Blair House (Pivotal), who came to Melbourne last spring and placed in the Caulfield Stakes. | Saeed bin Suroor | Pat Cosgrave |
| 10 | Danceteria | 8 | Carrying the colours of Australian Bloodstock but British-trained, Danceteria (Redoute's Choice) is another making his Australian debut on Saturday. He has won seven of his 16 starts, including a last-start victory in the Group 1 Dallmayr Preis (2000m) in Germany. Earlier this year, he was fourth behind world champion Enable (Nathaniel) in the Group 1 Eclipse Stakes (2000m). | David Menuisier | Jamie Spencer |
| 11 | Cape Of Good Hope | 6 | Formerly trained by Aidan O'Brien, Cape Of Good Hope (Galileo) is a full-brother to the globe-trotting Group 1 warhorse Highland Reel (Galileo). Cape Of Good Hope himself has won two of his 10 starts, including one at Listed level. He has placed in the Group 2 Superlative Stakes (1400m) and was fourth in the Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club (2100m). | David & Ben Hayes & Tom Dabernig | Mark Zahra |