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The wait is finally over as we head to Royal Randwick for the opening day of The Championships, a weekend that truly represents the grand final of Australian racing.

Emma Reeves aids us with programming and identifies who she thinks is the best placed horse each weekend.  Campaldino, Saturday 4th April, Royal Randwick, Race 3: When identifying a horse for this piece, I am always looking for the most interesting programming story to provide some insight into the decisions we’re making. This week, I have opted for the ‘least interesting’ story which, in my role, is the dream, though with living, breathing animals it is rarely that straightforward. This gelding’s autumn program was mapped out during the spring. It is the gold standard, a tried and true path towards the Sydney Cup for a horse of his profile and everything has progressed smoothly to this point. When setting the program, we may have hoped for a little more in the Manion Cup, however he was caught wide and carried top weight, yet never gave in and was not beaten far. Stayers can often take it in turns to win, but this gelding has won or placed in two thirds of his career starts. He is tough, consistent and very much on the right path, so I have no doubt he will be right there again.  

SATURDAY 11th APRIL - RANDWICKRail Position: +4M Entire LUMBINI, Race 3, 1200m, 12.55pm, T Clark, 55kgLumbini bounced back to her very best with an excellent second in the Group 3 Magic Night Stakes last time. She’s trialled since then to keep her fitness up to the mark between runs, and she’s in fantastic order at home so we can’t fault her ahead of this outing. She’s got the speed to roll forward from barrier 9 and slot in behind the speed, and from there she should enjoy an even run in transit. The stiff 1200 metres at Randwick will suit her enormously and she won’t have any issues with some cut in the ground, so we expect her to give this a good shake.REACHIN' OUT, Race 3, 1200m, 12.55pm, R Bayliss, 55kgReachin’ Out announced herself as an extremely exciting filly when pulverizing her rivals on debut at Kensington last month. She’s come through that run in brilliant shape and her subsequent work has been excellent, so she’s certainly taken plenty of improvement from it. She’s up sharply in grade here but once you’ve won a race as a two year old you’re mostly forced into Stakes races, so it’s not an unusual pathway. She’s drawn a lovely barrier in 3, so we expect her to show the early speed she did last time to race on or close to the lead and make her own luck from there. She thrived on the wet track at Kensington so ground conditions don’t concern us and she’ll be equally as effective on a drier surface, so if she can get into a comfortable rhythm before delivering a sharp turn of foot we think she’s got the ability to be featuring in the finish of this very valuable race.SIR DELIUS, Race 9, 2000m, 4.35pm, C Williams, 59kgSir Delius is firing on all cylinders ahead of his Grand Final. He ran another courageous race in defeat when third behind Aeliana last time, and after being caught a little flat-footed at the top of the straight he kept responding for pressure and was only a little over a length from her at the line. We’re confident that he’s taken further improvement from that second run of his preparation, and he’s ready to peak here third-up. He’s going to be most effective if it’s a genuinely run 2000 metres, and Dubai Honour’s dropping back from 2400 metres where he led throughout and just got collared late so it’s likely that they will try to repeat those front running tactics here which helps us. From barrier 3 Craig should be able to settle him a bit closer to the leader, and if the speed’s genuine he’ll be able to relax and enjoy an even run in transit. This is a top-class race and he’ll need to reach a new peak to win, but we haven’t lost any faith in him and he’s capable of featuring in the finish.SATURDAY 11th APRIL - CAULFIELDRail Position: +8M Entire DRUMFIRE, Race 3, 1200m, 1.10pm, M Zahra, 57kgDrumfire ran an excellent race to finish second at Kensington last time. It paid to race close to the speed on that occasion so the winner got first run on him, and that horse has since gone on to finish third in the Group 3 Kindergarten Stakes so the form’s had a nice boost. We sidestepped that race in favour of this as we felt it was slightly easier, and it’s a lovely race for him, especially with all of the scratchings to date. He’s taken everything in his stride since heading south and he’s settled into life at Flemington without a bother. Caulfield can be a tricky track but he’s an agile colt, and we’re confident he’ll handle it. He’s drawn well in barrier 2, but officially jumps from barrier one with scratchings, so Mark should be able to position him anywhere he wants from there, and if he enjoys a smooth run in transit we think he’s got what it takes to win. SATURDAY 11th APRIL - NEWCASTLERail Position: +9M Entire QUEEN OF RUSSIA, Race 2, 1250m, 1.15pm, Z Wadick, 57.5kgQueen Of Russia is delighting us ahead of her first start. Her two trials this time in have been encouraging, and she’s learned a lot from them and kept progressing nicely in her subsequent work. 1250 metres at the provincials is a lovely starting point for her, and Zac will be positive from barrier 3 to try and land in a prominent position where she can enjoy all the favours in the run. She’s conceding race experience to her key rivals which isn’t easy to do, but she’s debuting against her own sex which is always our preference and there are only three older mares in opposition, so this adds confidence. She’s a lovely filly with a great attitude, so if she can enjoy some luck in running we hope to see her fighting out the finish to get her career off to an exciting start.TUESDAY 14th APRIL - HAWKESBURYRail Position: +5m 1100 - 450m, True remainder WISHFUL THINKER, Race 6, 1400m, 4.35pm, Z Wadick, 58kgWishful Thinker gave us such a thrill when breaking his maiden at Wyong last time. He showed plenty of determination and a genuine will to win, and this fantastic attitude will take him a long way. He’s come through the run in great shape and his recent work has been excellent, so he’s ticking all the right boxes ahead of this outing. The first run outside of maiden grade is never easy, and he’s taking on some hardened older gallopers here so this is no exception. However, he’s done everything right to date and he’s open to further improvement on only his fifth career start. Zac got a terrific tune out of him last time so he’ll once again be positive from his lovely draw in barrier 2 to try and make every post a winning one, and if he gives a strong kick on straightening we’re sure he’ll take plenty of catching.KNOWING LOOK, Race 7, 1400m, 5.10pm, R King, 58.5kgKnowing Look gave us such a thrill when breaking her maiden first-up at Newcastle. She showed plenty of determination and a genuine will to win, and this fantastic attitude will take her a long way. She’s come through the run in great shape and she’s returned to the trials since to keep her fitness up to the mark between runs, so she’s ticking all the right boxes ahead of this outing. The first run outside of maiden grade is never easy, and she’s taking on some hardened older gallopers here so this is no exception. However, she’s done everything right to date and she’s open to further improvement on only her third career start. She’s going to relish stretching out to 1400 metres and Rachel will be positive from her lovely draw in barrier 1 to try and make every post a winning one, so if she gives a strong kick on straightening we’re sure she’ll take plenty of catching.