Stars Roll In For Brisbane Cup Heats

NO less than seven individual Group 1 winners will contest Thursday night’s heats of the Group 1 Sky Racing Brisbane Cup (520m) at Albion Park.

NO less than seven individual Group 1 winners will contest Thursday night's heats of the Group 1 Sky Racing Brisbane Cup (520m) at Albion Park.

The series – worth a cool $250,000 to-the-winner for the first time in 2019 – has assembled five outstanding heats, with the country's most accomplished open grade sprinters ready to rumble in Queensland's flagship sprinting event.

Lining up in the fifth and final heat is series favourite Orson Allen from box one, the Perth Cup winning son of Kc And All set to have just his second look at the Albion Park circuit, after finishing midfield in a heat of this series last year.

Winner at 30 of his 57 starts, the Correy Grenfell-trained sprinting powerhouse faces Group 2 Queensland Derby winner Sennachie – most unlucky in last week's Flying Amy Classic Final – and North, the speedy NSW chaser heading to Brisbane off two sparkling all-the-way Wentworth Park successes in recent weeks.

The opening Brisbane Cup heat has the makings to be an absolute blockbuster, with Black Opium and Mystic Riot matching motors from boxes six and seven respectively.

A drifter in betting, Black Opium finished fourth in last week's Flying Amy Classic decider behind Feral Franky, failing to race up to the sparkling 29.54 she posted when annexing her heat in breathtaking style a week earlier.

The daughter of Black Magic Opal should appreciate the wider draw this Thursday and her clash with Million Dollar Chase winner Mystic Riot promises to be a corker.

Trained by Peter Lagogiane, Mystic Riot was a terrific second at her Albion Park debut a few weeks back, sticking to her guns when second to Dam Slippery in the State Of Origin Sprint.

The girls look set to dominate the second heat, with local star Dam Slippery taking on hugely talented Victorian bitches Fabwik and Neo Cleo.

Heat three sees two time Group 1 winner Barooga Brett make his first trip to Brisbane, drawn box one up against Group 1 Golden Easter Egg winner Zipping Bailey nicely drawn in trap two.

While that pair will hold the majority of money, the upward spiral of Victorian Got Some Wheels and the expected improvement of Whiskey Riot, makes for a most interesting third heat.

Another two-time Group 1 winner is sitting up in the cherry for heat four, with Tony Brett's recent kennel acquisition lining up looking to maintain his unbeaten Albion Park record.

Two from two since heading to Queensland, Deliver looks poised to get all the favours from the inside alley, taking on Australian Cup winner Dyna Patty who has drawn box five.

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