Powerhouse sprinter Amron Boy will spearhead Jamie and Brooke Ennis’ bid for a double Group 1 celebration at Sandown Park on Thursday night.
Near-record winner of the Silver Chief last December, Amron Boy is warm favourite to claim his second G1 trophy in the $160,500 Sportsbet Harrison Dawson (race 7, 8.19pm).
That’s despite being beaten at $1.50 in his heat by G3 Launching Pad winner Trooper Tears.
“He probably got himself beaten last week,” said co-trainer Jamie Ennis.
“He tried to cross back to the fence before he’d crossed the leader and then Trooper Tears had built up his momentum. They went to the line together from there, but Trooper Tears went great.”
A son of Zambora Brockie, a reserve for the 2016 Harrison-Dawson Final, Amron Boy has won just one of his last nine starts, albeit a scorching 29.12sec 11-length Sandown romp on April 27.
But that form-line is deceiving, as he’s only missed a place twice, and came within a neck of G1 glory in the Temlee when edged out by superstar arch-rival Wow She’s Fast.
Amron Boy had box one in his Harrison-Dawson heat and another favourable alley in two has seen Sportsbet mark him $2.70 favourite for the $100,000 to-the-winner final, ahead of heat conqueror Trooper Tears (box 6) at $4.
WATCH: “He’s back in town!” AMRON BOY (B4) was a runaway 11-length victory over Melbourne Cup winner YACHI BALE (B1) at Sandown Park on April 27, stopping the clock at a blistering 29.12sec.
“Obviously, we’ve drawn well again, and he’ll get his chance,” Ennis said.
“Hopefully, he can clear ‘the red’ (Fred Rose) and I don’t think the three (Kai Bale) should pose an issue for him in the first 50 metres.
“He’s going fine. Two weeks ago at Sandown he’s gone as well as he ever has (29.12sec). There were two runs where you could have said he’s not going as well as he was, but there were reasons for it.
“He just lacks a yard to the first mark, so it comes down to luck in running, but he’s a good chance.”
The Ennises are hoping for a change of Harrison-Dawson fortune, with favourite Cape Hawke going amiss when having the 2012 edition at his mercy, while Southern Ripple was runner-up in 2019.
Click HERE for Sportsbet’s Group 1 Harrison-Dawson market
While Amron Boy went under at odds-on last week, the Ennises produced a wonderful training feat to bring another hot favourite undone in the heats of the $160,500 Sportsbet Sapphire Crown.
After seven months on the sidelines, initially due to a pin muscle injury, followed by a seasonal spell, Plagiarise ended Kelsey Bale’s six-race winning streak – constituting the Ballarat, Geelong and Warrnambool Cups.
At her first start since October 5, Plagiarise, a daughter of champion 2015 Harrison-Dawson winner Fernando Bale, led all-the-way to defeat 2022 Sapphire finalist Let’s Win Coin and the unlucky Kelsey Bale ($1.50) in 29.43sec.
Moving from box one to five for the star-studded final (race 8, 8.40pm), Plagiarise is $9, with the perfectly-drawn Magic Muffin (box 1) $3.60 favourite, shading defending champion Wow She’s Fast (box 7) at $3.70 and Kelsey Bale (box 5) $3.90.
“Plagiarise had been trialling great leading into the heats, but obviously I didn’t expect to beat Kelsey Bale,” Jamie Ennis explained.
“Kelsey Bale got an impeded run, and she was the run of the race. But at the end of the day, number one (Plagiarise) went up on the semaphore board.
“Plagiarise ran good splits last week – comparable to the other heats – but she goes to box five this week.
“She would have to do everything right to win. The main thing for her is that she’s now a Group 1 finalist.
“It’s a very strong race. It’s as strong as the Harrison-Dawson. Wow She’s Fast just finds a way to win, Kelsey Bale has been beating the boys in the country cups and ‘the red’ (Magic Muffin) is drawn to win the race. And that’s without mentioning Baby Jaycee!”
Click HERE for Sportsbet’s Group 1 Sapphire Crown market