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Unforgotten is poised to become the first mare to claim the Chelmsford Stakes-Epsom Handicap double at Royal Randwick tomorrow.
Trainer Chris Waller has Unforgotten primed for the Group 1 $1 million TAB Epsom and form guru Gary Crispe is firmly in the mare's corner.
Filante (1996) is the only horse to win the Chelmsford-Epsom double but Crispe said Unforgotten would emulate that rare feat.
"On Timeform weight-adjusted ratings, Unforgotten is clearly the horse to beat in the Epsom,'' Crispe said.
"Unforgotten resumed from a spell when sixth behind Winx in the Group 1 Winx Stakes, beaten just under four lengths by her illustrious stablemate.
"But she followed that up with an electric performance to win the Chelmsford Stakes over this course and distance under weight-for-age conditions.
"Although Unforgotten is bound for longer races after the Epsom, I'm sure her trainer kept some sprint in her legs, with the mare ready for another dynamic effort over the Randwick mile in the Epsom.''
Crispe said Unforgotten had a peak Timeform rating of 119 from her ATC Australian Oaks win while the mare reached 115 in the Chelmsford, with more to come.
"If Waller can coax that additional four pounds from the mare for the Epsom she will win,'' Crispe said.
While Unforgotten will be back in the ruck turning for home, Pierata is likely to enjoy a perfect run behind the speed from his inside draw and will be in front of her turning for home.
"This could prove to be a winning edge as Pierata could be off and gone while his main opponents will have to chase him down, a point that will probably not be lost on (jockey) Corey Brown, who gets back atop the entire for the first time this spring,'' Crispe said.
"Brown and Pierata had a very successful campaign earlier this year winning the Magic Millions 3YO Guineas before returning to Sydney for successive seconds to Kementari in the Hobartville Stakes and Randwick Guineas, ending the season with a Timeform rating of 120.
"In two runs this spring, Pierata has gone to a new Timeform peak of 123 after just going down to Siege Of Quebec in the Tramway Handicap over 1400m following a narrow win over Kementari in the Missile Stakes when resuming.
"His Tramway effort was an excellent trial for this afternoon, Pierata going into that a run short after a 28-day break — being scratched from an earlier race in his campaign.
"Also, Pierata had no luck in the Tramway being trapped three- and four-wide without cover most of the race, but still managed to tough it out until collared right on the post.
"He will improve again."
Article taken from Daily Telegraph, published Friday 28th September 2018, Author, Ray Thomas, Page 63.
