Black Opal Stakes Race Day attracts over 200 nominations
203 nominations have been received for the 2025 John McGrath Auto Group Black Opal Stakes Race Day program.
The 10-race card features four stakes races highlighted by the Group 3 John McGrath Auto Group Black Opal Stakes (1200m) which has received 27 nominations and the Listed TAB Canberra Cup (2000m) which has received 31 nominations.
Canberra Racing Club Racing and Equine Welfare Manager Chris Polglase was pleased by the entries.
“We do a lot of work on our programming, and we’re delighted to give so many horses the chance of Black Opal Day glory across our 10-race program.
“I’m thrilled to see our four stakes races attract 105 nominations between them and are shaping as wonderful contests.”
“There is a great mix of metropolitan quality as well as a number of live local hopes with Scarli Japali exempt from the TAB Canberra Cup ballot and Sun ‘N’ Sand likewise straight into the Tooheys Canberra Guineas after they both won on Civium Preview Day a fortnight ago.”
“The Club is also excited to welcome back Canberra Cup defending champion Almania who makes the trip down from Newcastle for Kris Less.”
Almania will look to become the 5th horse to win dual-Canberra Cups, the most recent being the locally trained-Macknuckle in 2009 and 2010.
The full list of TAB Canberra Cup nominations can be found here.
Impressive winner of the ETS Refrigeration Black Opal Preview (1000m) Farcited will look to do the Preview-Opal double if he returns to Canberra for Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott.
The powerhouse partnership won Canberra’s premier race back in 2023 with Autumn Ballet who joined an illustrious list of juveniles to win in recent years including Epaulette, Criterion, Takedown, Trapeze Artist and Encryption.
The 2025 edition has received nominations from leading metropolitan stables including James Cummings, Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr), Chris Waller, Michael Freedman, Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott, Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald, Ciaron Maher, Team Hawkes and Peter Snowden.
Time For Snow will fly the local flag for Anthony Warren.
The full list of John McGrath Auto Group Black Opal Stakes nominations can be found here.
In the Listed Seears Workwear National Sprint (1400m), Keith Dryden will hunt his 6th win in the race, now joined by co-partner Libby Snowden, with Sunchyme a recent winner of the SERA Country Championship Qualifer.
If the Zoustar mare could take out the National Sprint, it would mark 30 years between Dryden’s 1st and 6th winner with his first coming when Dazzling Gambler romped in by 4 lengths in the 1995 edition.
Group 1 placegetter Amenable is amongst the 27 nominations for the Seears Workwear National Sprint.
20 three-year-olds remain in contention for the Listed Tooheys Canberra Guineas (1400m), including highly touted filly Snow In May for John O’Shea & Tom Charlton and exciting colt Shangri La Spring who is looking for four wins on the bounce for Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott.