Sydney Group 1 winner Come Play With Me spearheads a strong team by Blackfriars in the Coolgardie Cup (1760m) this Sunday.
The $100,000 Goldfields feature kicks off the round which reaches a climax in the $120,000 Kalgoorlie Cup (2200m) on October 3. Scenic Lodge champion Blackfriars sired his first Coolgardie Cup winner in 2007 with Friars Touch and he has four entrants this year.
Trainer Adam Durrant won the Coolgardie Cup in 2009 with Inarticulate who was raced by his sister Renee. Stablemate Reverend Lovejoy made it a running double the following year.
Come Play With Me is a homebred for Durrant’s parents Geoff & Vicki and has a huge advantage over his rivals with a rating of 109. He won last year’s G1 Metropolitan (2400m) at Randwick but the steadier of 62kg and a six-month hiatus brings that class-edge back to the field.
“We have been really happy with Come Play With Me,” Durrant Racing manager Duran Carter said this week. “He’s come back in super order and will give the race a shake even with the big weight on Sunday. He’s in for a good campaign although his main targets aren’t until later this year.”
Western Temple is the opening $3 favourite for the Coolgardie Cup ahead of Come Play With Me ($6) while the other three by Blackfriars – Divine Shadow, Friar Fox and Gangbuster – are at $16.
Come Play With Me’s dam Russian Playmate (Dr Johnson) won a LR La Trice Classic and LR Starstruck Classic at Ascot. Her other recent winners by Blackfriars include Black Russian (Belmont) and Blackwater Bay (Ascot) while their unraced 3yo Soviet Spy won a Lark Hill trial in June. She has a yearling colt by Snippetson but missed to him last year at Scenic Lodge.
Snippetson starts this weekend with Kerman Rock who takes on some classy stakes winners in Race 2 at Belmont on Saturday. And he can cut the ribbons for the Coolgardie Cup card with the Durrant-trained 3yo filly Snip’n’tuck in Race 1 on Sunday.
Scenic Lodge stands Snippetson and Universal Ruler for $6,600 with Dash For Cash at $2,750. (Fees inc GST) with a free return.
COME PLAY WITH ME
Son of Blackfriars wins the G1 Metropolitan at Randwick