News

Inaugural Inglis Guineas Draws Top Field

11th May 2010

The inaugural Horsezone.com.au Inglis Guineas – which will be the richest race run in country Australia and the fifth richest this season in New South Wales - has drawn a number of quality entries, highlighted by recent G3 winner Star Of Octagonal.

The $770,000 set weights mile for three-year-olds is for graduates who were offered at Inglis’ 2008 yearling sales and were subsequently nominated to the $2.6 million Inglis Race Series.

The Inglis Guineas, to be run at Scone follows the opening day of the 2010 Inglis HTBA Scone Yearling Sale, which begins on Thursday and concludes with a second session this Sunday, May 16.

The lucrative prizemoney pool of $770,000, with half a million to the winner is the result of the Inglis Race Series Bonus system, whereby all stake money remaining after all the scheduled bonus races were run jackpotting into the Inglis Guineas.

With a few bonuses failing to go off in the inaugural series the 2010 Inglis Guineas prizepool has jackpotted to its $770,000 figure, with $500,000 set aside for the winner of the race.

“We guarantee the Inglis Guineas for $250,000 minimum prizemoney and the bonus jackpot system ensures that all nomination money paid into the series gets disbursed in this race.

“We’ve been really pleased with how the inaugural Inglis Race Series has progressed from Starspangledbanner taking out the first event, the Inglis Juvenile, way back on Cox Plate Day in 2008” said Inglis Commercial Development Manager Matt Rudolph.

“Other Inglis Race Series winners since that have subsequently gone on to stakes success include Carrara, Delago Bolt, The Mikado, Dissolved and Chance Bye.

“More importantly winners have ranged in price from $4,500 to $1.2million so it’s worth paying up to be part of the series no matter which sale you come from.”

The Todd Howlett trained Star Of Octagonal will have plenty of quality opposition in the Guineas, including fellow recent G3 winner Slapstick, juvenile stakes winner Delago Bolt, stakes performers All Legal, Bawaardi and Stoneblack, as well as impressive Flemington winner Sophrosyne.

Star Of Octagonal is one of several star Scone graduates this season.

The list is headed by Sydney’s most popular mare Hot Danish ($32,000 2005) and fellow G1 winner Small Minds ($48,000 2008). Welkom Gold ($30,000 2006) is another recent stakes winning graduate, while Star Of Octagonal was purchased out of the 2008 sale for just $23,000.

A record number of 412 yearlings have been catalogued for the 2010 sale.