Chad Schofield will chase his first Australian Group 1 win in a decade when he rides leading Stradbroke Handicap contender Amenable.
On this special edition of Hold All Tickets, Alex Donnelly is joined by Liam Clancey from Betfair and James “The Guru” Molony from Racenet.
Co-trainer Michael Kent Jr confirmed Schofield had been booked to ride Amenable, who in April ran a gallant second at $51 behind Magic Time in the Group 1 All Aged Stakes at Randwick.
Amenable has since finished runner-up in the Luskin Star Stakes at Scone. This morning, he was on the fourth line of betting at $9 but has since firmed in to $6 equal favourite (wtih the Tony Gollan-trained Antino) to win the $3m Stradbroke at Eagle Farm on Saturday week
The four-year-old gelding, by Lonhro, has 52.5kg in the Stradbroke but weights are set to rise at least 0.5kg, given topweights such as I Wish I Win, Think About It and Private Eye will not contest the race.
Regardless, Kent Jr said he was delighted with Schofield’s booking and said the jockey knew the gelding well.
Stradbroke Handicap contender Amenable. Picture: Racing Photos via Getty Images.
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Schofield will also ride stablemate Hezashocka in the $1.2m Q22 (2200m) on Stradbroke day.
Hezashocka stormed to a dominant win in the Group 3 Premier’s Cup at Eagle Farm last Saturday under Jamie Kah, who won’t ride on Stradbroke day.
“We have locked in Chad Schofield to ride Amenable in the Stradbroke,” Kent Jr, who co-trains with Mick Price, told Racenet.
“We also needed a rider for Hezashocka and so we have put Chad on both.
“Chad has ridden both these horses really well before and he is riding exceptionally well as a rule.
“We have also had a lot of luck with Chad.
“We were keen to put him on.”
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As an apprentice, Schofield famously won the 2013 Cox Plate on Shamus Award. He won another three Australian Group 1s in 2014 before being offered a Hong Kong riding contract. More recently, Schofield has based himself in Sydney.
Meanwhile, Price and Kent Jr have booked three-time British champion Oisin Murphy to ride new stable runner Kitty Rose, a three-year-old filly, in the Sandringham Stakes (1600m) at Royal Ascot.