Foreign invasion

By Paul Pickering
A TRIO of European raiders is set to challenge three-time defending champ Zipping in Saturday’s $350,000 Group 2 Sandown Classic.
Melbourne Cup runners Illustrious Blue and Manighar and Godolphin mare Eastern Aria are among 15 horses nominated for the 2400m weight-for-age Classic, which should provide a gripping finale to the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival.
Owner Lloyd Williams all but confirmed on Tuesday that Zipping, the evergreen nine-year-old which last year bolted in for his third-straight Classic victory, will defend his title on Saturday.
He would start as a favourite with bookies and punters alike, having finished fourth in the Melbourne Cup – for the third time – and second in the Cox Plate this spring.
Zipping’s history at Sandown and the unprecedented European interest has Melbourne Racing Club officials hailing the 123rd running of the race – formerly the Sandown Cup and Williamstown Cup – as one of the strongest fields ever.
“That’s as good an international contingent as we’ve had in the race,” MRC media manager Andrew Holmes said.
“To have those numbers, and the quality of those horses as well, is outstanding.”
Other Classic nominees include Zipping’s Irish-bred stablemate Mourayan, in-form New Zealander Ginga Dude, Bart Cummings-trained mare Faint Perfume and 2009 Sandown Guineas winner Kidnapped.
The Group 2 Guineas will again lead Saturday’s supporting card, which has been bolstered by the introduction of the 3200m Sandown Cup and the Group 3 Betfair Eclipse Stakes – run the following week in last year’s calendar.
Illustrious Blue and Mourayan have also been nominated for the two-mile race, which will be run over the jumps course and could also feature Adelaide Cup winner Capecover.
“It was a bit of an experiment,” Holmes said of the latest incarnation of the Sandown Cup.
“The aim was to seize on the horses that were balloted for the (Melbourne) Cup, the Lexus (Stakes) and those sort of distance races during the carnival.
“We were hoping it wasn’t going to impact on the quality of the Classic field, and I don’t think it has.”
Meanwhile, the 1600m Guineas is likely to feature Sydney-based Group 1 winner Pressday as well as the in-form Bigelow – a winner at Flemington on Saturday – and emerging Cummings-trained colt Goldstone.
So, with two Group 2 races, two Group 3s and five Listed events, punters will indeed be spoiled at Sandown on Saturday.
The MRC will be hoping the weather that marred its Caulfield carnival can stay away this weekend.
Finalised fields for the nine-race card will be released this morning (Thursday).