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Chipping Norton Stakes Tips & Runner-by-Runner Preview

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Chipping Norton Stakes Tips & Runner-by-Runner Preview

The feature race of the weekend is the Chipping Norton Stakes at Randwick and the race is the opening Group 1 contest of the annual Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival.

Ten horses are set to go to post including the Godolphin owned Anamoe, who is arguably one of the best horses in Australia at the moment.

We take a closer look at every runner in the Chipping Norton Stakes on Saturday.

Anamoe

Anamoe landed the Cox Plate in 2022 and made an impressive return at Randwick two weeks ago, winning over this course and distance in the Apollo Stakes. He reopposes some of those rivals here, but it’s hard to see any of them turning the form around. In addition, he’s got a handy draw and under James McDonald, Anamoe is the one they all have to beat.

Mo’unga

Mo’unga hasn’t won since landing the Group 1 Winx Stakes in August 2021, but he’s run well in defeat, including when behind Anamoe in the Apollo Stakes. Partnered by Hugh Bowman, Mo’unga has a tricky draw to overcome, and it’s hard to see him improving past Anamoe.

Knights Order

Winner of the Sydney Cup in 2022, Knights Order doesn’t have a strong record coming in after a break, and it would be a shock if he were to beat this field over the 1600m trip. This looks like a prep run for the season with a staying trip playing more to his strengths.

Huetor

Huetor is another horse that is better over a stiffer trip, and he also looks set to struggle to get in the mix over this trip. However, he was an eye-catcher when staying on strongly in a recent barrier trial, so keep a lookout for him this season once stepping up in distance.

Laws of Indices

Laws Of Indices ran a cracker in December when placing 3rd in the Hong Kong Mile, and he should have no problem landing an Australian Group 1 at some point this year. It’s not likely to be in this race, though, having already finished 6th behind Anamoe in the Apollo Stakes.

Stockman

Stockman is the rank outsider of the field, and this is a prep run as he targets the Sydney Cup later in the season over 3200m.

Arapaho

Arapaho was on the speed for a long way in the Apollo Stakes before fading in the final 150m, and it’s likely to be a similar story in this race. So keep an eye out for him over 2000m and further as the season progresses.

Benaud

Trained by John O’Shea, Benaud has managed just one win from 13 race starts, with his best performances coming over 2000m – it would be a shock to see him involved in the closing stages of this contest.

El Bodegon

El Bodegon is lightly-raced and put in an excellent run when placing 3rd behind Aramoe in the Cox Plate last year. He’s a Group 1 winner in France, and despite finishing only 9th in the Apollo Stakes, he should put in an improved effort here.

Montefilia

Montefilia has won four Group 1 contests in her career, but she tends to take a run or two to get up to speed, so it’s difficult to see her landing this race. She could rattle home, though, and grab a place for connections.

Fangirl

Fangirl improved with each run last year, culminating in placing 2nd in Winx Stakes, under two lengths behind Anamoe. She also put in an excellent finish in The Golden Eagle and impressed in the Apollo Stakes last time out. So she could be finishing strongly in this race once others have cried enough.

Hinged

Connections of Hinged must be sick of the sight of Anamoe having finished 5th, 3rd and 2nd behind him in recent months, including the Apollo Stakes when the duo battled it out up the straight. She’s a horse improving with each run, but she’s not guaranteed an easy time on the front in this race.

Why?

This five-year-old may seem to have grappled with finding her form in 2021, but in her last start she ran third behind Esta La Roca at Sandown and has also, fittingly, won a start at Geelong. In fact, of her five career wins, three of them have occurred at this distance. If past behavior is the best indication of future behavior, then it’s not out of the question for her to do it once again. She’s moved to $3.00 (after opening at $4.20), so get it now while the getting is good!