By David Nagel
While its feature Group 1 meetings are now finished for the Autumn – the dual tracks at Sandown Hillside and Lakeside will continue to play a key role in the metropolitan racing scene over the busy month of March.
The inner Lakeside track at Sandown will this Wednesday host the second of five consecutive midweek meetings at the track this month, pencilled in around some of the biggest race meetings of the Autumn Carnival.
Upcoming Saturday racing continues this week with the running of the time-honoured $1.5million Newmarket Handicap (1200m) at Flemington, before moving to Moonee Valley on Saturday 18 March for the $5million All-Star Mile (1600m).
It’s then back to Flemington on Saturday 25 March for the running of the $3million Australian Cup (2000m).
Impressively, Sandown played host to 17 group races in February, highlighted by four Group 1s.
Jacquinot won on protest over Gentleman Roy in the CF Orr Stakes on Saturday 11 February, before three Group 1s rounded out a bumper day of racing a fortnight later.
Little Brose won the Blue Diamond Stakes for Ben and JD Hayes, before Alligator Blood showed dogged determination to win the Futurity Stakes for Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.
Former Victorian jockey Ben Thompson then secured his first group 1 victory aboard Uncommon James in the Oakleigh Plate.
Here’s a recap of the group races run at Sandown in February.
SATURDAY 4 FEBRUARY
Group 3 Chairman’s Stakes (1000m) Winner: Zulfiqar.
Group 3 Bellmaine Stakes (13000m) Wrote To Arataki.
SATURDAY 11 FEBRUARY
Group 2 Autumn Stakes (1400m) Glint Of Silver
Group 3 Blue Diamond Prelude (1100m) Barber
Group 2 Blue Diamond Prelude (1100m) Exploring
Group 3 Kevin Hayes Stakes (1100m) Rich Fortune
Group 2 Rubiton Stakes (1100m) Lofty Strike
Group 1 CF Off Stakes (1400m) Jacquinot
Group 3 Carlyon Cup (1600m) Pounding
SATURDAY 25 FEBRUARY
Group 2 Angus Armanasco Stakes (1400m) Shuffle Dancer
Group 3 Mannerism Stakes (1400m) Espiona
Group 3 Zeditave Stakes (1200m) Recommendation
Group 2 Autumn Classic (1800m) Pericles
Group 2 Peter Young Stakes (1800m) Steinem
Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) Little Brose
Group 1 Futurity Stakes (1400m) Alligator Blood
Group 1 Oakleigh Plate (1100m) Uncommon James
