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Houtzen Makes Her Debut In Melbourne At The Mitty's McEwan Stakes On Saturday!

Written on the 8 September 2017

After missing out on a placing at her Sydney debut, Houtzen the Toby Edmonds-trained filly will be trying her luck in Melbourne on Saturday at the Mitty's McEwan Stakes over 1000 metres.

The $200,000 3yo & up Group 2 meet has only a field of 7 with Houtzen favourite at $2.40 with Sportsbet and jumping out from barrier 6.

The Gold Coast-trained filly is one of the leading contenders for the $10 million Everest in Sydney next month and makes her season reappearance on Saturday.

You may remember her first four winning starts in Queensland including the $1.9 million Magic Million Classic for two-yaer-olds. This prompted the trainer to send her down to Sydney for the Golden Slipper in March where she came fifth.

No doubt the heavy track and wide barrier did not help that day, finishing almost six lengths behind She Will Reign.

Toby Edmonds has targeted the Moonee VAlley as her ideal lead-up venue for the Everest and said that whatever she does on Saturday, she will improve in her second start en-route to the big race. That will most likely be at the VAlley as well, either in the Group 1 Moir Stakes against established sprinters or the Group 3 Scarborough Stakes (1200m) against three-year-old fillies.

"She's come up nicely and is coming along well," Edmonds said.

"We were looking for a race of this grade for her. It's a Group 2 over 1000 metres round the Valley and she has no weight."

Regular rider Jeff Floyd is being replaced by Craig Willaims, who can ride light. Houtzen has only 50 kilograms under the weight-for-age scale.

Although Houtzen is favourite to win, she is up against a group of experienced sprinters including the Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Russian Revolution, who won the Group 1 Galaxy during the Sydney autumn carnival.

Other rivals include Darren Weir's Hellbent ($8) who narrowly missed a win at the Group 1 William Reid Stakes at the Valley last autumn, Supido ($8), a winner of the Group 3 Sir John Monash Stakes at Caulfield in his season reappearance and two other good sprinting mares, Heatherly ($6) and Missrock ($9).

(Photo:Houtzen, Photo Source: Tertius Pickard)


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Authorised Representative
(AR 001 272 774) under the TTSC's AFSL (288-213)