Godolphin’s Tamerlane will need to set a modern-day weight-carrying record for the Listed $200,000 Civic Stakes (1400m) after being allocated topweight of 59.5kg for the feature sprint at Royal Randwick on Saturday.
The Civic Stakes has attracted 26 entries with the James Cummings-trained Tamerlane conceding between 1.5kg and 5.5kg to his rivals.
In recent years, Ninth Legion (2016) and Mic Mac (2013) have won the Civic Stakes carrying 59kg.
But no sprinter has carried Tamerlane’s weight or more and won Randwick’s feature winter sprint for nearly 50 years – Gilt Pattern won under 60kg in 1975.
Tamerlane, a multiple stakeswinner of nearly $1 million prizemoney, was disappointing when resuming in the Luskin Star Stakes at the Scone stand-alone meeting last month but the gelding does have a good second-up record.
He has since won a trial at Rosehill Gardens on June 11.
TAB Fixed Odds price assessors have installed Tamerlane as equal favourite for the Civic Stakes at $6, alongside Iknowastar and Strait Acer.
Cummings is chasing a second win in the Civic Stakes after preparing Gaulois to win the race in 2019.
The in-form Bjorn Baker stable, which celebrated the Stradbroke Handicap-Brisbane Cup double at Eagle Farm last Saturday with Stefi Magnetica and Alegron respectively, has three Civic Stakes entries – Iknowastar, Wategos ($8) and War Eternal ($34).
The Joe Pride and Team Snowden stables have also entered three sprinters for the Randwick winter sprint.
Pride has nominated Estadio Mestalla ($9), Excelladus ($15) and King Of The Castle ($15), while trainers Peter and Paul Snowden have Substantial ($34), Vintage Kod ($34) and Mirra View ($71).
The Randwick meeting has attracted another bumper entry of 206 nominations including boom unbeaten trio Kerguelen, Charming Legend and Clear Thinking.
Originally published as Tamerlane’s bid to break weight-carrying record in Civic Stakes at Royal Randwick on Saturday