Three-year-old Divine Prophet has developed âfrom a boy to a manâ according to hoop Dwayne Dunn who rides the youngster first-up against the older horses in the 2017 Ladbrokes CF Orr Stakes this weekend.
Divine Prophet is the sole three-year-old in the Ladbrokes CF Orr Stakes field in 2017. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.
Last start winner of the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m), the Team Hawkes-trained Divine Prophet is the sole three-year-old in this yearâs $500,000 Group 1 Ladbrokes C.F. Orr Stakes (1400m).
The Caulfield autumn feature attracted a dozen final acceptors and returning Choisir colt Divine Prophet is out to be the first three-year-old CF Orr Stakes winner since the fellow Hawkes Racing-trained All Too Hard (2013).
That was the first time since the John Hawkes-trained Yell won the race back in 2003; Hawkes also preparing the subsequent yearâs winner Lonhro (2004).
All Too Hard won the CF Orr Stakes first-up as a three-year-old having also won the previous yearâs Caulfield Guineas, Dunn aboard for both victories.
The horse also ran second in the Cox Plate and backed up from his CF Orr Stakes success to win the Group 1 Futurity Stakes at the same track and distance next-up as well as the All Aged Stakes at Royal Randwick that April in his career swansong.
Dunn is confident he is aboard a livewire chance to hand him his second CF Orr Stakes winning ride this year, Divine Prophet having trialled twice in Sydney leading up to his return in Melbourne.
“He has really turned from a boy to a man, he has developed into a lovely individual, he probably spelled a little too well, his trial was nice until the last 100m when he ran out of petrol,” Dunn told Racing Victoria.
“It was a hot day and he has that under his belt and he now goes in to a hot field.
“This is going to be a very hard task for him, there are five or six live chances, sometimes in this race you can have a small field and one or two solid chances but it is a great field this weekend.”
Divine Prophet is at $8 in the latest CF Orr Stakes odds at Ladbrokes.com.au.
The markets are led by the Australia Stakes quinella of Malaguerra ($4) and Black Heart Bart ($3.90).
The CF Orr Stakes barrier draw though could prove the telling factor.
Just two winners have jumped from a double-digit gate in the past 10 editions of the CF Orr Stakes with Shinzig (12 of 16 in 2008) and Typhoon Tracy (11 of 16 in 2011).
The two outside alleys this season belong to the favourites with the Darren Weir-trained Black Heart Bart chasing his fourth Group 1 win from 11 and Malaguerra looking to continue his winning ways from 12.
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