Godolphin could be on for a Group 1 double on day two of The Championships as the Boys In Blue send out a pair of British imports carrying odds-on favorite status. 40 minutes before Contributer (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire})'s bid in the G1 Queen Elizabeth S., Hartnell (GB) (Authorized {Ire}) will attempt to score a second consecutive victory at the highest level, following his dominant performance in the G1 BMW at Rosehill Mar. 28. The 4-year-old hasn't put a foot wrong since shipping from the Middleham stable of Mark Johnston–he would actually be unbeaten in three starts if he hadn't run against his aforementioned stablemate on his Australian debut in the G1 Chipping Norton S.
Saturday's line-up, however, appears stronger than in previous renewals of the staying contest, a fact probably helped by the extra A$600,000 that have been added to the overall prizemoney since The Offer (Aus) (Montjeu {Ire}) won it last year. Protectionist (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}) returns to the trip that saw him win the G1 Melbourne Cup but faces a stiff task as he gives weight to the entire field, including a massive 4.5kg to the favorite. The former German-trained galloper failed to make the switch to middle distances, running sixth in the 1800-meter G2 Peter Young S. and eighth in the 10-furlong G1 Australian Cup, but showed some marked improvement in the 2400-meter G1 BMW, where he rallied on strongly to finish fifth behind Hartnell. The Kris Lees trainee bids to become the first horse since Makybe Diva (GB) (Desert King {Ire}) to register the Melbourne Cup-Sydney Cup double–Australia's only two Group 1 races run over two miles.
Chris Waller's Who Shot Thebarman (NZ) (Yamanin Vital {NZ}), third in Protectionist's Melbourne Cup, was two lengths ahead of this rival in the BMW and appears well handicapped. Waller has been upbeat about his charge, who won the G1 Auckland Cup over the same trip in 2014. “There is no better form than the Melbourne Cup for a two-mile race,” he said. “Who Shot Thebarman has really matured. He is a much stronger horse and has had the perfect preparation.” Hong Kong raider Dominant (Ire) (Cacique {Ire}) is an interesting candidate as he tackles the trip for the first time. His last victory came in the 2400-meter G1 Hong Kong Vase in 2013, a race in which he ran fourth last season, and he was fifth in the 2000-meter Ranvet S. on his first start in Australia.
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