Locals keen for interstate success
Spring Racing Carnival at Morphettville has arrived for 2025 but look out for some connections in Melbourne.
While the racing continues across five big days at Morphettville, starting on Caulfield Cup Day on Saturday, October 18, there are several horses based at the Club to look out for across the border.
This weekend’s feature race, the Sportsbet Caulfield Cup will have a South Australian flavour with trainer Phillip Stokes training French import runner Deakin in the 2400m event.
The six-year-old ran sixth in the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes at Flemington a fortnight ago and won across the distance earlier this year and will have jockey Daniel Stackhouse on board.
Deakin is one of four runners Stokes has at Caulfield on Saturday, with South Australian Lachlan Neindorf aboard his other three runners.
Ferivia will run in the Schweppes Thousand Guineas over 1600m, Stretan Angel will feature in the Manhari Alinghi Stakes (1100m) and New Zealand grey colt Matahga will run in the Lamaro’s Hotel Plate.
Oopy MacGillivray and Dan Clarken have a runner in the Schweppes Thousand Guines with Mating Call making the field after an eye-catching run in the Edward Manifold Stakes.
Stokes also has three runners in Friday night’s meeting at Southside Pakenham, with Neindorf on board Street Legal in Harris Automation Engineering Maiden Plate and Effusiv in the Mitavite Athlete Plus BM66 Handicap.
Lady Potato Head will feature in the Bridgestone Select Pakenham BM66 Handicap over 1600m with Hannah Edgley on board.
The Andrew Gluyas-trained Freedom Flame was nominated for the Schweppes Thousand Guineas and the Schweppes Ethereal Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday but missed on final acceptance, but will be one of three runners in the Hill Smith Stakes at Morphettville on Saturday.
Gluyas has made the Hill-Smith Stakes his own in recent years, the race has served as a crucial springboard for the stable, launching Goldrush Guru’s charge to a Victoria Derby win in 2022, while last year’s winner, Air Assault, went on to capture four additional stakes victories despite finishing down the field in the Derby.
Leading the Gluyas charge this year is Golden Guru and he comes into the race off a third-place finish in a Benchmark 68 (1600m) at Morphettville earlier this month.
Joining him are stablemates Sassy Sophie and Freedom Flame, who also lined up in that same race on October 4. Freedom Flame finished strongly to grab second, while Sassy Sophie battled on for fifth.
Gluyas has already secured five wins in the Hill Smith Stakes —three alongside trainer Leon Macdonald (2011, 2015, 2016), and two in his own right over the past two years. Now, he’s aiming for a hat-trick come Saturday.
If you can’t get to Flemington, there is no better place to soak in all the moments of this year’s Spring Carnival than at Morphettville.
With Club Lago set to launch on Caulfield Cup Day, trackside is the place to be during the 2025 Spring Racing Carnival at Morphettville.
