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Sydney’s world-class $87 million Everest Carnival continues at Royal Randwick this Saturday with the running of the Group 1 $2 million Moët & Chandon Spring Champion Stakes and third running of the $2 million The Invitation.
The 10-race card also includes the Group 2 $1m Cincotta Chemist Callander-Presnell named in honour of legendary newspaper and media figures Ken Callander and Max Presnell.
Further black type racing includes the Group 3 $750,000 Toyota Forklifts Craven Plate and Listed $200,000 TAB Brian Crowley Stakes as this year's expanded Sydney Everest Carnival continues through October and November.
Australian Turf Club Head of Racing and Wagering, James Ross said Moët & Chandon Spring Champion Stakes Day was among the most popular on the Royal Randwick spring program.
"This is the final Saturday at Royal Randwick of the spring and is always a popular meeting for younger racegoers and for our great partners in Moët & Chandon," Mr Ross said.
"Both the [Group 1 $2 million] Moët & Chandon Spring Champion Stakes and [$2 million] The Invitation have continued the high-quality fields right across the carnival.
"We are also delighted with Racing NSW to honour two men in Ken Callander and Max Presnell who have devoted many decades of their careers to reporting about and covering Sydney racing."
The Godolphin and James Cummings-trained Tom Kitten with jockey Adam Hyeronimus is the drifting $2-$2.30 TAB favourite in the Group 1 feature ahead of the Chris Waller-trained filly Tutta La Vita ($6-$7) for Jason Collett. Tutta La Vita is aiming to become of the fourth filly in the past seven years to win the race.
Third TAB favourite is Raf Attack ($8-$6.50) for trainers Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott and jockey Regan Bayliss – a race Gai Waterhouse would with a fifth victory equal the training record of her legendary father TJ Smith.
The Chris Waller-trained Espiona ($3.80 to $3.30 and Kerrin Mcevoy) is favourite coming off a last start seventh in the TAB Everest and the Graeme Begg and Tyler Schiller pairing with Magic Time ($4.60 to $3.70) – are battling for early favouritism in the $2m The Invitation.
McEvoy is aiming for a third consecutive win in just the third running of The Invitation. Parisal ($6 to $7) from the Godolphin and Cummings team with jockey Regan Bayliss is next in betting.
McEvoy also rides the highly-promising filly Artic Glamour for trainers Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou who opens a heavily backed $2.80-$2 TAB favourite in the Group 2 $1m Callander-Presnell. Wager in 2004 trained by Gai Waterhouse was the last filly to win the race.
Multiple Group 1 winner Hinged from the Waller stable and with Brett Prebble to ride opened the TAB favourite ($3.60) in the Group 3 $750,000 Toyota Forklifts Craven Plate but is now equal favourite with No Compromise ($4.60).
