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Rival harness racing trainers will be scratching their heads this week trying to figure out how they can beat class mare Stylish Memphis after the daughter of Bettor’s Delight drew perfectly in gate one for Saturday night’s $200,000 Pryde’s Easifeed Queen Elizabeth II Mile at Tabcorp Park Menangle.
Stylish Memphis has only seen the inside draw at Menangle twice in her past runs at the premier track and her drivers on both of those occasions, Mark Purdon and Tim Williams, were able to keep their rivals out and lead both times.
Jack Trainor will be hoping to keep the mare’s unbeaten run this season intact and hold out a couple of speedy customers in Wainui Creek and Maajida when the mobile lets them go.
Trainor has a special affiliation with this mare and has won five of his eight drives on her in two trips to Australia, with her only defeats being in the 2021 Miracle Mile, the Chariots Of Fire and the Hondo Grattan Stakes, when she was prepared by New Zealand trainer Mark Jones.
This year Jones transferred her to Trainor to prepare for the Group 1 and Trainor has not let him down, with three superb performances, two of them with withering bursts from near the tail of the field to win in times just outside the magical 1:50 mark.
Trainor has also qualified the smart B K Swy for the Queen Elizabeth, with Cameron Hart a leading contender to be offered the drive.
Champion reinsman Luke McCarthy will stick with impressive last-start winner in Fairy Tinkabell for his trainer/wife Belinda while ace reinsman Blake Fitzpatrick has picked up a fabulous drive with Anntonia for David Thorn.
“That’s why Blake drove her [Anntonia] Saturday. If Fairy Tinkabell didn’t qualify I could have driven Anntonia, but Blake was able to get a feel for her the other night.”
McCarthy said Stylish Memphis could show more gate speed than people might have expected from gate one.
“Jack [Trainor] hasn’t really had to use her gate speed so far,” he said.
“She’s the one to beat on Saturday night for sure; she’s going so well. She’s just a machine.
“I’d have to agree she’s the best mare in the country at the moment.”
The final field for the Queen Elizabeth Mile, in barrier order, is:
