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Australian Racing: Cifrado aiming for Winx Guineas glory

3 minute read

There are no fewer than nine meetings set to take place on Sunday, including at Sunshine Coast, Devonport and Ballarat.

Picture: bet365

They also race at Alice Springs, Grafton, Kalgoorlie, Narrandera, Port Hedland and Wodonga.

Race 6 Sunshine Coast

Cifrado @ 5.50

Race 6 Devonport

Alpine Affair @ 8.00

Race 2 Ballarat

No Fuss @ 2.40

Cifrado chases Winx Guineas success

The highlight on the Sunshine Coast card is the sixth race of the day, the Group 3 Winx Guineas over 1600m.

A heavy 10 track is expected for the three-year-old contest, with Know Thyself expected to prove popular with punters.

Aaron Bullock's mount is the winner of three of his four starts to date with the sole defeat coming when runner-up over 1250m at Canterbury first up this prep.

That first up effort came in a Benchmark 64 handicap, with the youngster making amends in impressive fashion in a Class 3 at Rosehill last time.

The son of The Autumn Sun came home over five lengths clear of his 12 rivals when racing on a heavy 9 surface at Rosehill.

A wide barrier isn't ideal here, however, so the experienced CIFRADO is taken to register the fifth win of his career.

Trained by Rex Lipp, the gelding has shown good form at a higher level in the past winning twice in Group 2 company as a two-year-old in May last year.

Those Group 2 wins include a win by just under half-a-length in an 18-runner renewal of Eagle Farm's Group 2 Sires' Produce Stakes over 1400m.

While 5.50 the gelding has been unable to salute in four starts this prep, he has managed to place second twice.

Notably the first of those runner-up finishes came when racing on a heavy 10 track in the Group 3 Gold Coast Guineas over 1200m at Sunshine Coast in May.

An inside barrier is a positive for Michael Rodd's mount who can provide his handler, who won this race in both 2003 and 2004, with a winner here.

Affair to register Devonport success

They race at Devonport in Tasmania with an eight-race card scheduled for their synthetic track.

The sixth race of the day is a 1650m Benchmark 68 handicap, with David Pires' Li'l Hail Mary expected to feature prominently in the market.

The four-year-old ended her last prep with a victory over 1400m when racing on turf at Launceston in early April.

The filly has registered placed efforts in all three starts this time around, including when contesting a 1350m Benchmark 68 handicap here at the end of last month.

While the extra distance is unlikely to pose an issue for a filly who has won over 1600m, barrier 12 may prove more troublesome.

Trainer John Blacker looks to hold a strong hand here and his ALPINE AFFAIR is the pick to register his fifth win from 11 starts on synthetic tracks.

The most recent of those victories came when contesting a Benchmark 60 handicap over this course and distance in May.

The 8.00 son of Alpine Eagle has won on turf since when racing on a soft 5 surface in a Benchmark 76 handicap at Hobart on his penultimate outing.

Apprentice Jackson Radley, on board for each of his last four efforts, gets on well with the gelding and takes a valuable two kilograms off his back.

Fuss to break maiden at Ballarat

They also race on a synthetic track at Ballarat, with the second race of the day a 1400m maiden contest.

The New Zealand-bred gelding NO FUSS demonstrated ability when debuting with a third in a 1200m maiden at Wingatui on debut in March.

The three-year-old has joined the Tony & Calvin McEvoy stable from Shankar Muniady's New Zealand base since then and he has a good barrier here.

The 2.40 selection is expected to have improved for that debut effort when apprentice ridden, while the step up in distance is also likely to suit.

John Allen takes the ride and he looks up to improving on his 22.5% strike-rate (20/89) for the stable with a victory in this contest.