Will Clarken has opted for the $1m Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) in Melbourne with Beau Rossa.
The lure of a Group 1 and huge prizemoney ultimately convinced Clarken and connections to head to Caulfield in preference to the Listed Leon Macdonald Stakes (1400m) at Morphettville.
“We just wanted to make sure everything was right,’’ Clarken said.
“In the end we thought the prizemoney and opportunity in a Group 1 was worth a shot.
“He was going to run a $2.50 favourite here and is only an $8.50 chance over there and the prizemoney is tenfold,’’ he said.
South Australia has two of the top four horses in Memsie betting with $4.20 favourite Behemoth chasing a second successive win in the feature.
Trainer David Jolly said he would have liked Behemoth (barrier nine) to draw closer to the rail but said he couldn’t fault the defending champion following his first-up Spring Stakes success.
“I would have liked to see him a bit closer to the middle,’’ Jolly said.
“But Streets Of Avalon has drawn outside him and will probably roll forward so hopefully we can come across and slot in somewhere,’’ he said.
