A week after Aft Cabin monstered his Randwick rivals, James Cummings has superstars Anamoe and In Secret poised to do the same.
Three-year-olds Aft Cabin and Golden Mile have already made encouraging returns for Godolphin and now trainer James Cummings is preparing to roll out his most prized autumn arsenal.
Cox Plate winner Anamoe and brilliant sprinting filly In Secret will kick off their respective campaigns at Randwick on Saturday, Anamoe in the Apollo Stakes (1400m) and In Secret in the Light Fingers Stakes (1200m).
While Cummings has a quality team of horses and significant depth in his ranks, he regards Anamoe and In Secret as his stable flagbearers.
“We are very lucky to have them,” Cummings said.
“These are some of owner Sheikh Mohammed’s best horses in training, certainly probably two of the best horses he has in Australia.
“I am delighted with them both and it looks like they are set to resume next Saturday.”
Anamoe was a first-up winner over Saturday’s course and distance in the spring, while In Secret was an unlucky second in the Silver Shadow Stakes (1200m) after being held up for a run for much of the straight.
Godolphin’s weight-for-age star will face 11 rivals in the Apollo, which will also be the campaign starting point for Chris Waller-trained mares Fangirl and Hinged, and his untapped import El Bodegon.
Fangirl and Hinged galloped together between races last Saturday and Waller confirmed both would run at Randwick before tackling the Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) two weeks later.
That race is likely to be a fork in the road for the mares with Waller happy to keep an open mind on their autumn goals, including a tilt at the All-Star Mile (1600m).
“We won’t set a horse for the All-Star Mile, but we’d love to have a runner,” Waller said.
“Hence the reason we’ve got seven or eight entries. We don’t ask for votes, we just hope we can get a wildcard with a horse that deserves to be there.
“But the traditional races are what we’ve got in mind at the moment.”
Bookmakers marked Anamoe a $1.90 Apollo Stakes favourite at UniBet Australia on Wednesday, with Mo’Unga ($7.50), El Bodegon ($8.50) and Fangirl ($9.50) the only other runners at single-figure odds.
The Light Fingers Stakes (1200m) is expected to be a race in two between In Secret ($2.40) and Zougotcha ($3.40) with Golden Slipper winner Fireburn next best at $8.