Carnival countdown with Group One spots on offer
The countdown to the 2026 Sportsbet Adelaide Racing Carnival is in full swing and Saturday’s 10-race card at Morphettville will be a great gauge to which runners are on course for Autumn glory.
There are six Black Type level races at Morphettville on Saturday, with plenty of runners aiming to secure spots in the upcoming four Group One events.
In the Sportsbet R N Irwin Stakes (1100m), one of the lead in races to the Sportsbet Goodwood (1200m), Western Australian sprinter Super Smirk has a good first-up profile, with one victory and three placings from five attempts, but the five-year-old mare will have to come from the outside barriers for trainer Daniel Morton and jockey Jacob Opperman.
Pisanello also is one to watch and brings in strong form, with six wins from 17 starts and three victories from four second-up appearances for Ben, Will & JD Hayes, with Daniel Stackhouse on board.
A winner at Caulfield on Caufield Cup Day last year in the Alinghi Stakes, Stretan Angel will also be a chance for trainer Phillip Stokes and jockey Lachlan Neindorf will make the trip over to take the ride.
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All eyes will be on the Sportsbet Auraria Stakes (1800m) with runners aiming for a start in the Sportsbet Australasian Oaks (2000m) on the first day of the Sportsbet Adelaide Racing Carnival on Saturday, April 25.
The Ben, Will & JD Hayes-trained Stung looks to be a strong chance in the ninth race on the card, especially after a last up win in the Clare Lindop Stakes at Morphettville, but there are several chances in this race.
Look for the Dan Clarken & Oopy MacGillivary runner Mating Call to be there come the finish line, with Emily Finnegan on board, and also look out for Freedom Flame, a winner earlier this year in the Hill Smith Stakes, for trainer Andrew Gluyas and jockey Tayla Johnstone.
It may well be a South Australian showdown in the Sportsbet Redelva Stakes (1100m) between Mathematician and Bassett Babe.
The Will Clarken stable can’t fault the three-year-old, who has had back-to-back wins earlier this year in his first two outings, including a two-length triumph on Sportsbet Adelaide Cup Day.
Bassett Babe also has had two great victories across January and February, which introduced the Andrew Gluyas-trained filly as a potential star on the rise, which has included a third placing in last month’s Group 3 Typhoon Tracy (1200m) at Caulfield.
It looms as an exciting showdown, but it’s far from a two-horse race, with an influx of interstate raiders, including Tycoon Star for the Hayes stable, the Ciaron Maher-trained Signature Scent and Job Done for Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr.
In an ideal world – Redelva Stakes runners would find themselves in the Group 2 Tobin Bronze Stakes (1200m) on Sportsbet Australasian Oaks and Robert Sangster Day, while the Sportsbet Goodwood (1200m) on May 9 remains a possibility.
