Rod ‘Rocket’ Douglas has a distinct recollection of the barrier draw for the 2019 Caulfield Guineas.
Douglas, who functions as the racing manager for owner Jonothan Munz, was tasked with drawing the Caulfield Guineas barriers for Anthony Freedman’s stablemates, Super Seth and Groundswell, prior to the 2019 running.
Super Seth ultimately began from barrier four, following Douglas’s earlier selection of gate five during the week. A subsequent scratching from within the field allowed Groundswell to gain a start and finish third.
With the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m) on the horizon for Saturday, Douglas attended the Guineas barrier draw on Tuesday. He selected barrier 5 for Call Me Coach, a colt owned by Munz and trained by Anthony and Sam Freedman, after observing the colt’s gallop at Caulfield.
Called upon first, Douglas assigned barrier 5 to Call Me Coach, who will race in the same silks as Super Seth and be ridden by Mark Zahra, the jockey who guided Super Seth to a narrow victory over Alligator Blood.
“We wanted somewhere between three and six as he’s an inexperienced horse,” Douglas said.
“It’s the same barrier I picked with Super Seth who eventually jumped from barrier four.
“Hopefully it’s a good omen.”
The Freedman father-and-son training team will also present Wolf Gap, who drew barrier four and will be ridden by Ethan Brown.
Sam Freedman mentioned that Brown has acquired considerable knowledge about Wolf Gap, having partnered the colt when it finished fourth in the Caulfield Guineas Prelude (1400m) on September 19.
Super Seth had an unplaced result in the Caulfield Guineas Prelude before securing the Guineas title.
A field of 11 competitors is expected to contest the Caulfield Guineas (1600m) on Saturday, with leading trainer Chris Waller entering four runners.
Tron Bolt (11), Diameter (9), Central Europe (7) and Somethings Burnin’ (3) will represent Waller and all four were at Caulfield on Tuesday morning for a gallop.
The Bjorn Baker-trained Golden Rose winner, Warwoven, maintained its favourite status in the Caulfield Guineas betting at $2.50 after drawing barrier six.
Warwoven is scheduled to travel from Sydney on Thursday and will be stabled with Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young at Cranbourne, who are set to field Blind Raise in Saturday’s race.
Blind Raise holds an undefeated record across two starts this preparation, winning first-up at Sandown on September 5 before claiming the Guineas Prelude last time out.
With Blake Shinn booked to ride, Blind Raise firmed from $3.50 to $3.40 after drawing barrier two.
Betting markets for the Caulfield Guineas are now open at Australian betting sites.
