Breeders' Stakes Brisbane Springboard

The Informant reports:

Group One winner Hall Of Fame resumes in tomorrow's (Saturday) $70,000 Gr. 3 Inglis Sales Cambridge Breeders' Stakes at Te Rapa, with a trip to Brisbane likely to follow.

The Savabeel colt has won four of his eight starts this season, headed by a victory in a tight duel with Savile Row in the Gr. 1 Levin Classic at Trentham in January. He also scored a five-length win in the Listed Zacinto Stakes at Riccarton.

But after a disappointing fifth as favourite in the Gr. 2 Waikato Guineas in February, Hall Of Fame was put aside and plans for a New Zealand Derby campaign were scrapped. Owners Te Akau Racing and trainers Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards ended up winning the Ellerslie classic anyway with the late-bloomer Gingernuts.

Autridge told The Informant this week that Hall Of Fame is at the top of his game in the countdown to his eagerly anticipated return to competition tomorrow.

“He's coming up really well,” he said. “We couldn't be happier with him and he's looking great. We're expecting a very good run first-up.”

Hall Of Fame has had three starts over 1200 metres for a win and two placings. His rating of 89 is 14 points higher than the next highest-rated runners Bella Gioia, Honey Ryder and O'Rachael, so he is well suited to the set weight conditions.

Autridge and Richards are treating Hall Of Fame's run in tomorrow's Breeders' Stakes as a springboard to the Brisbane winter carnival, where he is likely to be joined by Group One-winning stablemates Heroic Valour and Melody Belle.

“After this he'll head off to Brisbane for the winter,” Autridge confirmed. “There will be a few nice three-year-old races for him in the 1400 to 1600-metre range.”

One possible option is the Gr. 2 Queensland Guineas, a 1600-metre race worth A$350,000 on June 10.

But tomorrow's Breeders' Stakes is the first order of business, and he will face an 18-horse field with no shortage of talent.