A CAPACITY FIELD FOR THE $3 MILLION DONCASTER MILE – FINAL FIELD AND BARRIER DRAW

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, April 1, 2015

A capacity field will line up for the one-hundred and fiftieth running of the $3 million Doncaster Mile at Randwick on Saturday ... the opening day of The Championships.

The twenty runners and four emergency acceptances have been decided upon after the Australian Turf Club officials chose not to evoke their special discretionary powers which could have impacted on the makeup of the final field after they came to the conclusion ‘that the best outcome was to stick with the field the way that the balloting conditions were advertised.’

THE DONCASTER FIELD (WITH WEIGHT, JOCKEY AND BARRIER DRAW) IS:

1 Sacred Falls 58kg Zac Purton 20
2 Happy Trails 56.5kg Damien Oliver 2
3 World Ace 55.5kg Nick Hall 16
4 Real Impact 55kg James McDonald 21
5 Moriarty 54.5kg TBA 22
6 Royal Descent 54kg Joao Moreira 18
7 Ninth Legion 52.5kg Dwayne Dunn 8
8 Puccini 52.5kg Craig Newitt 17
9 Cosmic Endeavour 52kg Tim Clark 15
10 Hallowed Crown 52kg Tommy Berry 23
11 Hooked 52kg Dominic Tourneur 12
12 It’s Somewhat 51.5kg Craig Williams 4
13 Diamond Drille 51kg Thomas Huet 22
14 Pornichet 51kg Kerrin McEvoy 13
15 Destiny’s Kiss 51kg TBA 9
16 Arabian Gold 50.5kg Chad Schofield 5
17 Leebaz 50.5kg TBA 3
18 Rudy 50.5kg Luke Tarrant 6
19 Suavito 50kg Corey Brown 1
20 Plucky Belle 50kg Kathy O’Hara 10
21e Sweynesse 50kg Sam Clipperton 7
22e Kermadec 50kg TBA 19
23e Aomen 50kg TBA 14
24e Malavio 50kg TBA 24

SOME EARLY POINTS OF INTEREST:

Three jockeys (Dwayne Dunn on Ninth Legion, Craig Williams on It’s Somewhat and Corey Brown on Suavito) have been granted permission to ride half-a-kilo overweight.

Sacred Falls will be bidding for an historic third win in the race. No runner has achieved that to date. Sacred Falls will carry 58kg, a weight last carried to victory by Sunline in 2002. International star rider Zac Purton, who partnered Sacred Falls to victory last year, is again in the saddle.

Japan’s George Ryder Stakes winner Real Impact is bidding to become the first race seven-year-old winner of the race since Pharaoh made it back to back wins in 1995. If he were to succeed Real Impact would become the first international winner of the race.

The Nigel Blackiston trained Suavito will be looking to become the first Victorian-trained galloper to win the Doncaster Mile since 2007 when Haradasun scored for Tony Vasil.

‘Magic Man’ Joao Moreira, who currently leads the Hong Kong Jockey’s Premiership by an amazing 31 winners (he has saluted 96 times compared to the 65 win of second placed Zac Purton) will be one of the day’s star attractions. Moreira rides Royal Descent).

Top Sydney trainer Chris Waller has three runners (Sacred Falls, Royal Descent, Moriarty) and one emergency acceptor (the highly rated three-year-old Kermadec) in the race. Gai Waterhouse with three runners (Cosmic Endeavour, Diamond Drill and Pornichet) and the Hawkes training partnership (Ninth Legion and Leebaz) are the only other trainers to have more than one runner in the field.

Queensland has one representative in the form of the Helen Page trained Rudy who will be ridden the current Brisbane Metropolitan Jockey’s Premiership leader Luke Tarrant, who distinguishes himself by being the only apprentice rider in the line-up.

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