Randwick race to be defining for Fiumicino

Thursday 18 October 2012, 4:01pm

Two horses at different ends of their careers will carry the feature race hopes of the Hawkes racing team at Saturday's Randwick meeting.

Lightly-raced, in-form filly Jolie Bay can stake her claim for a Melbourne trip when she contests the Listed Brian Crowley Stakes (1200m) while veteran stayer Fiumicino will be out to turn back the clock in the Listed City Tattersalls Club Cup (2400m).

Nine-year-old Fiumicino is closing in on $3 million prizemoney but co-trainer Michael Hawkes said the gelding's performance would have a bearing on his immediate racing future.

"He's getting towards maybe the end," Hawkes said.

"It really depends on how he runs. He's a nine-year-old now.

"He looks a million dollars though, he's dappled up and looks great. It wouldn't shock me if he ran the race of his life, he's been going really good, but in saying that it's always the younger brigade coming through that you've got to contend with."

Fiumicino, winner of the 2007 Group One AJC Australian Derby and 2009 Group One BMW, is an outsider for the Randwick race in which the Bart Cummings-trained Dare To Dream has been well-supported into favouritism.

Jolie Bay, meanwhile, will be making just her fourth race appearance and is striving for back-to-back stakes wins after showing impressive finishing burst to land the Group Two Roman Consul Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on October 6.

Hawkes said a trip to Melbourne, and even a shot at the Group One Coolmore Stud Stakes at Flemington, was a possibility for the daughter of Fastnet Rock.

"We'll see how she runs on Saturday and decide what we do and where we go," Hawkes said.

"She could possibly end up in the latter part of the Melbourne carnival.

"It (the Coolmore Stud Stakes) is a possibility, it's there (as an option), but you can't get a step ahead of yourself."

Jolie Bay is out of Legally Bay who was trained by John Hawkes during her career.

Legally Bay won the Brian Crowley Stakes in 2003 and Michael Hawkes believes her daughter is capable of doing likewise.

"She has done super since her win, she's trained on and she's a really good chance to win again on Saturday," Hawkes said.

Jolie Bay is on the third line of TAB fixed odds betting at $6.50.

The resuming Shelford has drifted from $4.60 to $6 while the Peter Snowden-trained Sessions has been a big firmer from $3.40 to $2.40.

– AAP

Latest News

Prime Thoroughbreds - We have a Host of Leaders in our Team

Tuesday, 29 June 2021

Prime Thor­ough­bred’s cur­rent rac­ing team is putt­ing to­gether quite a re­cord. We have 22 hors­es that have raced in our team at pre­sent. Six­teen of th­ese are win­n­ers in­clud­ing the Stakes win­n­ing trio Ru­bisa­ki, Fituese and Xtreme­time with Miss Di­vine Em and Miss In Charge run­n­ing 4th in Stakes races. This sees a stakes win­n­er to win­n­er ra­tio of 18.75% with a stake’s per­formed to win­n­er ra­tio of 31.25%. Th­ese are ex­cep­tio­n­al fig­ures.   More »

Freedmans land maiden Group One win

Saturday, 27 February 2021

Un­der-rat­ed fil­ly For­bid­den Love has emerged as an au­tumn car­ni­val smokey with a bril­liant per­for­mance to win the Sur­round Stakes at Rand­wick.  More »

Capriccio completes Damian Lane treble

Saturday, 27 February 2021

In a big day for coun­try-trained hors­es, War­r­nam­bool fil­ly Capric­cio has tak­en out the In­glis Dash for Daniel Bow­man.  More »

More news headlines »