Joseph O'Brien's Small Fry is a clear favourite for Saturday's Group 2 Zipping Classic at Sandown, with Melbourne Cup placegetter Juja Kibo backing up from barrier 1.
The fields are out for Saturday's $750,000 Group 2 Zipping Classic (2400m, weight-for-age) at Sandown, and Irish stayer Small Fry remains a clear favourite. Thirteen are entered for the 5:05pm (AEDT) race.
Small Fry the one to beat
Small Fry, trained by Joseph O'Brien, has drawn barrier 4 and will be ridden by Mark Zahra. His Geelong Cup second to Point Of Law has been franked in the biggest way possible, and he arrives much fresher than the horses coming out of the Melbourne Cup. He is around $2.75 in early betting.
The Cup horses backing up
Ciaron Maher has three in the race. The headline act is Juja Kibo, who placed behind Point Of Law in Maher's Melbourne Cup trifecta and has drawn the rail with Sam Clipperton aboard. Maher has reported that the gelding pulled up very well from the Cup. He has already won two Group 2s this spring, the Moonee Valley Cup and The Metropolitan.
Maher's other two are Middle Earth (barrier 5, Ethan Brown) and Smokin' Romans (barrier 9). Other Melbourne Cup runners backing up include 2024 Cup winner Knight's Choice, Vauban and Strictly Business.
The main chances
- Small Fry (barrier 4) – Joseph O'Brien, Mark Zahra
- Kingswood (8) – Gavin Bedggood, John Allen
- Juja Kibo (1) – Ciaron Maher, Sam Clipperton
- Travolta (7) – Chris Waller, James McDonald
- Darkbonee (2) – Symon Wilde, Craig Williams
- She's A Hustler (6) – Grahame Begg, Jordan Childs
Kingswood is second in the market at around $4, just ahead of Juja Kibo. She's A Hustler, last year's winner, gets in with 57kg.
The punting angle
This race comes down to freshness against class. Juja Kibo has the better draw and a strong spring record, but he ran a hard 3200m only 11 days earlier. Small Fry has had a lighter campaign and only one Australian run, so his price is built on that Geelong Cup form. If you think Juja Kibo has recovered, the rail and a run in transit give him a real chance at a better price than the favourite.