Saturday’s listed 2020 Merson Cooper Stakes (1000m) is shaping to be an entertaining contest, with two unraced two-year-olds fighting it out for market favouritism.
Phillip Stokes’ Brazen Boy caught the eye with a stunning 14-length jumpout win at Morphettville, and has crossed the border to take on the Melbourne two-year-olds
.@Racing's @MaccasMock said Brazen Boy's trial this morning was 'the best visual performance I have seen from a juvenile in S.A. since Miracles Of Life on November 30 2012.'
See it for yourself… pic.twitter.com/Ve0yFrliwt
— TheRacesSA (@TheRacesSA) October 26, 2020
The son of Brazen Boy was installed as the $1.80 favourite, but has drifted to $2.40, with market support coming for Forbes, who has moved from $3.80 into $2.80.
Forbes is a $750,000 son of Capitalist for the powerful new James Harron and Anthony & Sam Freedman combination, with high expectations.
“There are seven two-year-old colts we have with them and this one is the first one to step out at the races,” co-owner James Harron said.
“We have admired what they were doing and what their stable was doing – they are a smaller sort of set-up to some of the bigger stables and we could see they were getting quite incredible results and the horses were really performing very well.
“A number of our partners in our colt partnership are from Melbourne and it was sort of always a bit of a natural progression to have a presence there.”
“He’s just had a couple of little jumpouts at Mornington and this was a race which Anthony and Sam were keen to run him in,” Harron said.
“He’s only having his first start but he is a big and strong type of horse.
“We will learn a bit more about him on Saturday
“What happens after Saturday isn’t something we haven‘t discussed too much as yet, we haven’t set anything in stone.
“This colt was sold for $750,000 – one of the higher-priced Capitalists – and he has a nice pedigree and has a very good physique and is a strong, forward and mature kind of horse.
“But he doesn’t know how much he cost.
“Until you get them to the races, you don’t really know what you have got under the bonnet.”
Find the final field, barrier draw and odds for the 2020 Merson Cooper Stakes below.
*Odds accurate at time of posting.
| Horse | Win | Place | ||
| 1 | The Art Of Flying (6)J: John Allen 58kg T: C Maher & D Eustace | $11.00 | $2.50 | Bet Now |
| 2 | Marine One (11)J: Mark Zahra 58kg T: Lloyd Kennewell | $26.00 | $4.80 | Bet Now |
| 3 | Anamoe (3)J: Damien Oliver 58kg T: James Cummings | $5.00 | $1.50 | Bet Now |
| 4 | Brazen Boy (12)J: Jamie Kah 58kg T: P Stokes | $2.40 | $1.24 | Bet Now |
| 5 | Forbes (7)J: Jye Mcneil 58kg T: A & S Freedman | $2.80 | $1.28 | Bet Now |
| 6 | Qeyaady (8)J: Daniel Stackhouse 58kg T: T Dabernig & B Hayes | $34.00 | $5.50 | Bet Now |
| 7 | Rusheen (2)J: Jake Noonan 58kg T: A W Noonan | $71.00 | $10.00 | Bet Now |
| 8 | Sunfall (9)J: Zac Spain 58kg T: M Price & M Kent Jnr | $16.00 | $3.50 | Bet Now |
| 9 | Autumn Rose (13)J: Jamie Mott 56kg T: John Mcardle | $201.00 | $26.00 | Bet Now |
| 10 | London Lemming (4)J: Craig Williams 56kg T: Brian Mcgrath | $201.00 | $26.00 | Bet Now |
| 11 | Paper Dragon (5)J: Michael Poy 56kg T: Henry Dwyer | $67.00 | $8.50 | Bet Now |
| 12 | Stormlight (10)J: Patrick Moloney 56kg T: Caroline Jennings | $201.00 | $26.00 | Bet Now |
| 13 | Super Aurora (1)J: Liam Riordan 56kg T: Brent Stanley | $151.00 | $21.00 | Bet Now |
