Randwick inside mail: Sydney race looks ideal for Ducasse after draw dents Brisbane bid
Golden Slipper-winning trainer Michael Freedman is hopeful his decision to keep the in-form Ducasse in Sydney is rewarded with victory in the Precise Air Handicap (1500m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday.
Freedman had Ducasse entered for the $300,000 Listed Brisbane Mile (1600m) at Eagle Farm but when the gelding drew barrier 17 he decided to race for half the prizemoney at Randwick.
'We kept Ducasse in Sydney because of the wide barrier he drew at Eagle Farm,'' Freedman confirmed.
'He seems to be in good order and the rain around won't hurt him, either.
'Randwick is his favourite track and this is about his best distance so potentially this race sets up nicely for him.''
TAB price assessors agree with Ducasse the $4.40 favourite to continue his form surge this autumn.
Ducasse resumed with a strong win over 1400m at Rosehill then ran competitively at stakes level in successive starts when fifth to Iowna Merc in the Group 2 Ajax Stakes before a close third to Just Folk in the Group 3 Doncaster Prelude.
• Ray and Duff's Randwick tips: Best bet 'jumps out at me'
Freedman, who prepared Marhoona to win the Golden Slipper during the Sydney autumn carnival, also has emerging three-year-old Colophon as the $4 favourite for the NSW Bookmakers Co-Operative Handicap (1400m).
Colophon comes to Randwick after a monstrous win at Kembla Grange when he led throughout and put a margin of more than five lengths on his chasing rivals.
But Freedman does have concerns about the rain-affected track conditions and doesn't want Randwick to get much worse than its current Soft 7 rating.
'I need to keep an eye on the track conditions,'' the trainer explained.
'Colophon once ran on a Heavy 9 and wasn't at his best.
'He'll run on the proviso the track stays in the soft range. If he gets a track that is suitable then he is quite a progressive young horse and might earn himself a ticket to Queensland if he keeps going the right way.''
• Import has class to win but Kent Jr still wary
Freedman will be at Eagle Farm where he has the superbly-bred Seascape chasing stakes success in the Listed $160,000 Mick Dittman Plate (1000m).
Seascape, who is by super sire I Am Invincible out of the Group 2 winner Adrift, has won three of her nine starts including her recent Kensington win a month ago.
'With her pedigree we are hoping to get some black type,'' Freedman said.
'It is just a shame she has drawn off the track but she is going well.''
â– â– â– â– â–
RANDWICK BIG BETS AND MARKET MOVERS
RACE 4: Zealously $2.30-$1.90 after a bet of $2000 at $2
RACE 5: Saganti $4.60-$3.40
RACE 6: Lisztomania $4.60-$3.90, Piastri $8-$5
RACE 9: Colophon $8-$3.90, Engine Room $6-$5
RACE 10: Know Thyself $3.50-$2.30
EARLY QUADDIE
RACE 3: 3, 6, 9, 15
RACE 4: 1, 6
RACE 5: 4, 5, 7, 8
RACE 6: 3, 6, 8, 10
QUADDIE
RACE 7: 1, 2, 8
RACE 8: 2, 3, 5, 13
RACE 9: 3, 9, 10, 15
RACE 10: 1, 2, 8
PRICE CHECK
SUNRISE (race 2) has been a significant shortener with TAB after the scratching of early favourite Photographics. Sunrise, who set a course record to win at Kembla last start, was $2.80 but is now into $1.90 favouritism. Zealously (race 4) has also shortened from $2.30 to $1.90 after a bet of $2000 at $2.
SECTIONAL STARS
SUNRISE (race 2) produced a stunning comeback effort at Kembla Grange over 1000m last month, leading throughout to win by more than seven lengths and stopping the clock at a track record-breaking 55.58sec. She ran her final 600m in a flying 32.23sec.
KNOW THYSELF (race 10) was able to sustain a strong final 600m sprint to win the Country Championships Final. Despite being caught three-wide albeit with cover, then forced even wider on the turn, Know Thyself ran his final 600m in 34.28sec including a closing 200m sectional of 11.61sec to score a narrow but impressive win.
Never doubt yourself!
A finish for the ages in the Country Championships Final, and Know Thyself wins it by a whisker for @Paulmessara and @LGavranich with @Aaronbullock90 aboard! ðŸ'� @aus_turf_club | @WorldPool pic.twitter.com/GPLIwD8z0Q
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) April 5, 2025
TRIAL POINTERS
PASSEGGIATA (race 4) has looked more like her old self racing away to successive barrier trial wins by big margins in recent weeks. She romped home by four lengths from classy mare Olentia in a 900m Rosehill heat then ran her rivals ragged to win by more than five lengths at Warwick Farm over 822m. She hasn't won for nearly two years but looks to be coming up really well for this preparation, she's drawn the rails and handles rain-affected going.
WOOTTON VERNI (race 8) won five of his nine starts in France including a Group 3 in France. He's had two barrier trials for new trainer Chris Waller and was particularly impressive at Warwick Farm last week when he came from near last, hugged the rail and finished strongly for second behind the speedy Oh Diamond Lil. Champion jockey James McDonald rode Wootton Verni in his latest trial and sticks with the horse for his Australian debut.
BEST BET
ZEALOUSLY (race 4) raced through his grades late last year with three successive wins, leading throughout and winning by comfortable margins. He was then given his chance in The Sunlight and ran very well for fourth behind subsequent Group 1 winner Private Harry back in January. Zealously resumed at Warwick Farm earlier this month and trailed leader Wondereach into the straight, ranged up to win but could not get past his race-fit rival, losing narrowly. Zealously will be fitter for that run and is not badly treated at the weights after the claim. He looks placed to advantage.
What a finish! 😮
Wondereach salutes by a nose to grant the @mcsmithracing stable a double! ✌� pic.twitter.com/LisKJrWMx1
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) April 2, 2025
VALUE BET
INVADER ZIM (race 6) is resuming but he invariably sprints well fresh as he showed at his last two comeback runs with both second placings at Randwick. Last winter he endured a wide run and was unlucky not to have won over 1300m on a heavy track then last December he was first-up at 1200m and beat all but Disneck who was in rampant form. Invader Zim handles wet tracks and is over the odds around $12.
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"But if there's anything that I've noticed over the last nine or 10 months, is that some of those fringe players have started to become more comfortable in the environment, and that's given them more confidence. "And I think that their ability to mix in and not be overawed by bigger players is now more evident, and that helps them perform like we saw tonight with Kahli." Football Australia has not confirmed if Sermanni will remain on beyond this international window, but it is understood a permanent coaching solution is edging closer. It seems likely the two-game series against Argentina will be his last, with Friday's win marking his 150th game in charge across his three stints in the role. "It's been a real privilege for me to be able to come back and do what I have this spell with the Matildas," the interim Tillies coach said. "I've been extraordinarily lucky. I've had three spells with the team and if you could pick three spells to have, I would have picked the three that I had. "When the program started, basically from scratch, then the second time when we went into Asia from Oceania, and then this third time, when the team has just gone to a different level of support and recognition. So for me to come in now is just, it's kind of a wee bit extraordinary." Sermanni was given the task of future-proofing the squad ahead of next year's Asian Cup and beyond, and the 2-0 result made evident he has achieved that. The big question is, who will replace him? FA have remained tight-lipped about their options for the heading coaching role, but the leading candidate remains Lyon coach, Joe Montemurro. Johnson's inclusion in the starting XI helped to unlock the Tillies' front third through her connection with fellow forwards Kaitlyn Torpey and Holly McNamara. The side's movement off the ball and creativity in attack breathed new life into a squad that had struggled to create goalscoring opportunities without their big-name stars. Tottenham fullback Charlotte Grant's partnership with Johnson, Torpey and McNamara proved fruitful in the first half and showed what fans could come to expect from the next generation. Torpey eventually added the Matildas' second in the 69th minute, with a cross-turned-shot effort from out wide catching the Argentinian shotstopper Abigail Chaves by surprise. "If you look particularly at our second-half performance, I think we dominated the game and there were a lot of good passages of play," Sermanni said. "We maybe could have created a couple more better chances, which we didn't do. But generally, I thought, overall, our tempo in the second half was very good. "And when you consider the changes we've made, and when you consider the players that we started and put into the game, that was a very pleasing aspect of the performance." Friday night made it clear why Tom Sermanni was brought in to lead the Matildas for a third time, with a fairytale debut giving hope that the team can overcome the biggest challenge of their next chapter. His special skill of bringing in new talent and ensuring they prosper when they make the jump was on full display at Marvel Stadium in Australia's 2-0 victory over Argentina. Since Sermanni took back over in September 2024, nine players have made their debut for the Tillies. The latest was Kahli Johnson, who earned her debut in Melbourne and a starting XI spot in her first national team camp. Her impact was immediate, giving hope of what to expect from the next generation in the green and gold. "It feels great when you see a young player coming into the team and you can get them on the field, and particularly then get them on the field and start them," Sermanni said. "It makes it even better when you see how well Kahli played. She fulfilled what I saw of her as a player prior to coming in, but also what she did in training, and she just really took that out onto the field." Below are the five things we learned about the team heading into game two in Canberra, including the return of a key trio. Johnson, who plys her trade in Canada's new league for Calgary, became Matilda no. 237 in front of more than 43,000 fans. The 21-year-old lined up at left wing, and it only took the newest member 38 minutes to etch her name into history as an Australian goalscorer. Charlotte Grant swung the ball into the area and found Johnson's head at the backpost. The Argentinians threw their hands up, but their offside calls fell on deaf ears. "I mean, if it doesn't get called, is it offside?" Johnson asked tongue-in-cheek post-match. "It was surreal. I just wanted to go out there and kind of show what I could do. Playing in a team like this, with these type of players, it gives you that confidence." Sermanni was adamant the Matildas' Champions League-winning trio would feature in game two. The Tillies' head coach confirmed Arsenal stars Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross "should be fit and ready to go" in the Bush Capital on Monday. "I anticipate them starting on Monday. They've had the holiday, they've had a week," Sermanni said with a smile. "We were fortunate ... the game went how we hoped it would go, and that allowed us to utilise other players and give game time to players that haven't had as much. "But Monday, we've got three key Arsenal players, and they'll be - barring any accident or injury - in the starting lineup." The trio was rested in game one after their entry into camp was delayed by their European victory over Barcelona. There was a glaring void in the next chapter of the Matildas' story after the historic Women's World Cup in 2023. The future-proofing of the squad's success was at risk of falling by the wayside due to the aging stars and the dependence on key personnel. Alarm bells began ringing, and a solution was not found under former coach Tony Gustavsson by Paris 2024. Cue Sermanni. More than a decade ago, he was identifying players like Catley, Alanna Kennedy, Emily van Egmond, and Sam Kerr. On Friday, his eagle-eyed skill of spotting the stars of tomorrow was on display again. "It shows what your players can do when they get an opportunity," Sermanni said. "It's one of the challenges in the national team, and I've said this probably numerous times, is to play for the present, but plan for the future, and it's getting that balance right. "It's becoming more and more difficult to do that, because you're limited with the amount of time you get your team together, as opposed to what it was in the past. So it's always a challenge to do that. "But if there's anything that I've noticed over the last nine or 10 months, is that some of those fringe players have started to become more comfortable in the environment, and that's given them more confidence. "And I think that their ability to mix in and not be overawed by bigger players is now more evident, and that helps them perform like we saw tonight with Kahli." Football Australia has not confirmed if Sermanni will remain on beyond this international window, but it is understood a permanent coaching solution is edging closer. It seems likely the two-game series against Argentina will be his last, with Friday's win marking his 150th game in charge across his three stints in the role. "It's been a real privilege for me to be able to come back and do what I have this spell with the Matildas," the interim Tillies coach said. "I've been extraordinarily lucky. I've had three spells with the team and if you could pick three spells to have, I would have picked the three that I had. "When the program started, basically from scratch, then the second time when we went into Asia from Oceania, and then this third time, when the team has just gone to a different level of support and recognition. So for me to come in now is just, it's kind of a wee bit extraordinary." Sermanni was given the task of future-proofing the squad ahead of next year's Asian Cup and beyond, and the 2-0 result made evident he has achieved that. The big question is, who will replace him? FA have remained tight-lipped about their options for the heading coaching role, but the leading candidate remains Lyon coach, Joe Montemurro. Johnson's inclusion in the starting XI helped to unlock the Tillies' front third through her connection with fellow forwards Kaitlyn Torpey and Holly McNamara. The side's movement off the ball and creativity in attack breathed new life into a squad that had struggled to create goalscoring opportunities without their big-name stars. Tottenham fullback Charlotte Grant's partnership with Johnson, Torpey and McNamara proved fruitful in the first half and showed what fans could come to expect from the next generation. Torpey eventually added the Matildas' second in the 69th minute, with a cross-turned-shot effort from out wide catching the Argentinian shotstopper Abigail Chaves by surprise. "If you look particularly at our second-half performance, I think we dominated the game and there were a lot of good passages of play," Sermanni said. "We maybe could have created a couple more better chances, which we didn't do. But generally, I thought, overall, our tempo in the second half was very good. "And when you consider the changes we've made, and when you consider the players that we started and put into the game, that was a very pleasing aspect of the performance." Friday night made it clear why Tom Sermanni was brought in to lead the Matildas for a third time, with a fairytale debut giving hope that the team can overcome the biggest challenge of their next chapter. His special skill of bringing in new talent and ensuring they prosper when they make the jump was on full display at Marvel Stadium in Australia's 2-0 victory over Argentina. Since Sermanni took back over in September 2024, nine players have made their debut for the Tillies. The latest was Kahli Johnson, who earned her debut in Melbourne and a starting XI spot in her first national team camp. Her impact was immediate, giving hope of what to expect from the next generation in the green and gold. "It feels great when you see a young player coming into the team and you can get them on the field, and particularly then get them on the field and start them," Sermanni said. "It makes it even better when you see how well Kahli played. She fulfilled what I saw of her as a player prior to coming in, but also what she did in training, and she just really took that out onto the field." Below are the five things we learned about the team heading into game two in Canberra, including the return of a key trio. Johnson, who plys her trade in Canada's new league for Calgary, became Matilda no. 237 in front of more than 43,000 fans. The 21-year-old lined up at left wing, and it only took the newest member 38 minutes to etch her name into history as an Australian goalscorer. Charlotte Grant swung the ball into the area and found Johnson's head at the backpost. The Argentinians threw their hands up, but their offside calls fell on deaf ears. "I mean, if it doesn't get called, is it offside?" Johnson asked tongue-in-cheek post-match. "It was surreal. I just wanted to go out there and kind of show what I could do. Playing in a team like this, with these type of players, it gives you that confidence." Sermanni was adamant the Matildas' Champions League-winning trio would feature in game two. The Tillies' head coach confirmed Arsenal stars Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross "should be fit and ready to go" in the Bush Capital on Monday. "I anticipate them starting on Monday. They've had the holiday, they've had a week," Sermanni said with a smile. "We were fortunate ... the game went how we hoped it would go, and that allowed us to utilise other players and give game time to players that haven't had as much. "But Monday, we've got three key Arsenal players, and they'll be - barring any accident or injury - in the starting lineup." The trio was rested in game one after their entry into camp was delayed by their European victory over Barcelona. There was a glaring void in the next chapter of the Matildas' story after the historic Women's World Cup in 2023. The future-proofing of the squad's success was at risk of falling by the wayside due to the aging stars and the dependence on key personnel. Alarm bells began ringing, and a solution was not found under former coach Tony Gustavsson by Paris 2024. Cue Sermanni. More than a decade ago, he was identifying players like Catley, Alanna Kennedy, Emily van Egmond, and Sam Kerr. On Friday, his eagle-eyed skill of spotting the stars of tomorrow was on display again. "It shows what your players can do when they get an opportunity," Sermanni said. "It's one of the challenges in the national team, and I've said this probably numerous times, is to play for the present, but plan for the future, and it's getting that balance right. "It's becoming more and more difficult to do that, because you're limited with the amount of time you get your team together, as opposed to what it was in the past. So it's always a challenge to do that. "But if there's anything that I've noticed over the last nine or 10 months, is that some of those fringe players have started to become more comfortable in the environment, and that's given them more confidence. "And I think that their ability to mix in and not be overawed by bigger players is now more evident, and that helps them perform like we saw tonight with Kahli." Football Australia has not confirmed if Sermanni will remain on beyond this international window, but it is understood a permanent coaching solution is edging closer. It seems likely the two-game series against Argentina will be his last, with Friday's win marking his 150th game in charge across his three stints in the role. "It's been a real privilege for me to be able to come back and do what I have this spell with the Matildas," the interim Tillies coach said. "I've been extraordinarily lucky. I've had three spells with the team and if you could pick three spells to have, I would have picked the three that I had. "When the program started, basically from scratch, then the second time when we went into Asia from Oceania, and then this third time, when the team has just gone to a different level of support and recognition. So for me to come in now is just, it's kind of a wee bit extraordinary." Sermanni was given the task of future-proofing the squad ahead of next year's Asian Cup and beyond, and the 2-0 result made evident he has achieved that. The big question is, who will replace him? FA have remained tight-lipped about their options for the heading coaching role, but the leading candidate remains Lyon coach, Joe Montemurro. Johnson's inclusion in the starting XI helped to unlock the Tillies' front third through her connection with fellow forwards Kaitlyn Torpey and Holly McNamara. The side's movement off the ball and creativity in attack breathed new life into a squad that had struggled to create goalscoring opportunities without their big-name stars. Tottenham fullback Charlotte Grant's partnership with Johnson, Torpey and McNamara proved fruitful in the first half and showed what fans could come to expect from the next generation. Torpey eventually added the Matildas' second in the 69th minute, with a cross-turned-shot effort from out wide catching the Argentinian shotstopper Abigail Chaves by surprise. "If you look particularly at our second-half performance, I think we dominated the game and there were a lot of good passages of play," Sermanni said. "We maybe could have created a couple more better chances, which we didn't do. But generally, I thought, overall, our tempo in the second half was very good. "And when you consider the changes we've made, and when you consider the players that we started and put into the game, that was a very pleasing aspect of the performance."
