Black Heart Bart Leads 2017 The Goodwood Nominations

Darren Weir’s defending champion Black Heart Bart is the headline The Goodwood 2017 nomination taken for the Group 1 sprint to run at Morphettville Racecourse Saturday week.

Reigning The Goodwood winner Black Heart Bart is one of five nominees for trainer Darren Weir in the 2017 edition of the Adelaide Group 1 sprint. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

Early entries for the $1 million Darley Goodwood (1200m), taking place on May 20, closed this week and attracted 38 sprinters vying for a spot in the field for the Adelaide Autumn Racing Carnival feature.

Leading the likely line-up is the returning The Goodwood winner Black Heart Bart from the flying stables of Victorian horseman Weir.

Weir has prepared two previous winners with Black Heart Bart (2016) joining Platelet (2013) when he backed up from a second in the All Aged Stakes in Sydney to take out the sprint last season.

The now six-year-old son of Blackfriars has enjoyed a subsequent three other Group 1 victories in the past year including completing the CF Orr – Futurity Stakes double over the 1400m at Caulfield in February.

He races first-up in The Goodwood and is out to become the first back-to-back winner of the race since Musket Belle way back in 1911-12.

Weir has a total of five horses in The Goodwood nominations for 2017 with Black Heart Bart joined by stablemates El Divino, Heart Starter, Rageese and Sooboog.

The fillies and mares have a strong recent record in The Goodwood results enjoying four wins since 2010 and the best of the female gallopers this year in the mix includes Secret Agenda.

Caulfield’s Mick Price celebrated his fourth Robert Sangster Stakes victory last weekend with an upset win by his four-year-old daughter of Not A Single Doubt who is now nominated for a back-up into The Goodwood.

She posted a nearly two length victory in the Group 1 over the same track and distance as a $15 chance in betting and is out to do the double most recently achieved by the aforementioned Platelet (2013).

Price has also nominated for his four-year-old Savabeel gelding Bassett who was only a length away sixth in a blanket finish behind Karacatis in the Group 3 DC McKay Stakes (1100m) on Robert Sangster Day.

The other best out of the Robert Sangster Stakes also nominated for The Goodwood 2017 include the locally-trained runner-up Viddora and fourth placegetter Missrock.

Lloyd Kennewell’s ultra-consistent I Am Invincible four-year-old Viddora has run top two in her five most recent runs going back to New Year’s Eve and has outstanding form at the Morphettville track (10-4-2-0).

Missrock meanwhile is a three-year-old Fastnet Rock filly trained out of Cranbourne by Robbie Laing who is out to join Lone Rock (2011) as the only filly since Boardwalk Angel (1989) to salute in The Goodwood.

Another winner from last weekend at the Morphettville track in The Goodwood mix is the Brent Stanley-trained filly Sweet Sherry who took out the Group 2 Euclase Stakes (1200m).

Other key The Goodwood nominations this season include the Richard Jolly-trained DC McKay Stakes winning eight-year-old Karacatis, Lindsay Park’s Group 2 Arrowfield 3YO Stakes winning Hinchinbrook colt Derryn, Euclase Stakes runner-up Fuhryk, Darley Classic champ Malaguerra and the Australian Guineas winner from March Hey Doc.

See below for the official The Goodwood 2017 nominations, the final field and barriers set for release on Tuesday May 16 with updated markets also to be updated shortly at Ladbrokes.com.au.

2017 The Goodwood Nominations

Morphettville Racecourse – 20/05/2017