The 2023 Kings Hall Jewellers Silver Goblet Preview will be run and won at Dubbo on Saturday, with 12 two-year-olds set to do battle over the 1100m journey.
With the winner of this race guaranteed a place in next month’s $40,000 Silver Goblet, there is plenty at stake, and Dubbo Turf Club General Manager Sam Fitzgerald is happy with the depth of the field.
“The Silver Goblet is a race that the Dubbo Turf Club has always held in high regard,” Fitzgerald said.
“Year to year, the strength of the race changes, but some nice horses are always coming out of it.
“This year, the (Silver Goblet) Preview stacked up really well, and because it is a lot drier than last year, trainers have been more inclined to keep horses in work, knowing they will have a consistent and firm track.
“This race, in particular, has benefited; last year, we only had five or six starters, and with 12 in it this year, it’s going to be a great betting race and a great quality two-year-old race.
The Silver Goblet, which will be run on Friday, Junee 9, attracts late-maturing two-year-olds, and Fitzgerald believes the race is positioned nicely on the NSW racing calendar.
“It’s probably well-placed in some respects,” Fitzgerald said.
“The early-season two-year-old races are run when the new year starts and most people focus on the Wellington Boot as the premier juvenile race in this part of the world.
“The Silver Goblet is more aimed at those late-season two-year-olds; those that came in for an early preparation and are back for a second crack, or those two-year-olds that needed a little bit longer to furnish into a racehorse.”
In Saturday’s Silver Goblet Preview, five first-starters will take on seven youngsters with exposed form.
Of the debutants, the Rod Northam-trained Fuld’s Doubt – by Not A Single Doubt, out of Fuld’s Bet – heads to Dubbo after an imposing trial win over the 1000m at Muswellbrook on May 10.
Connections draw the widest with gate 12, and apprentice Chelsea Hillier hops aboard with the two-kilogram claim.
Of the experienced gallopers, the Brett Cavanough-trained New Pharoah will likely start as one of the favourites.
Braith Knock will jump aboard for the three-kilogram claim and must navigate his two-year-old from gate 11.
The American Pharoah gelding out of Talapega did race well on debut, finishing strongly to run second when beaten less than half a length over the 1000m at Muswellbrook.
The race winner (Metallic Ruler) contested the Group 2 Spirit Of Boom Classic (1200m) at Doomben on Saturday, finishing 4.8 lengths off the winner.
The Silver Goblet Preview does headline an extensive eight-race program at Dubbo, and with 122 acceptances, there are many good betting races.
Racing kicks off early at 11.46 am, and for fields, click here.
The Silver Goblet: A proven launching pad for talented youngsters
Dubbo’s Kings Hall Jewellers Silver Goblet (1100m) has been a proven hunting ground for trainers with up-and-coming two-year-olds, and over the past five years, many good horses have emerged from the race.
The Brett Cavanough-trained Eiger (Aaron Bullock, $2.80) used the Silver Goblet as a launching pad in 2019, with the Dream Ahead gelding winning on debut at Dubbo.
The now six-year-old has started 33 times for eight wins, earning over $350,000 in prize money, with feature wins in a Highway Handicap and the 2022 Scone Country Cup and Casino Beef Week Cup.
Out of the 2019 Silver Goblet, the Matthew Dale-trained Calescent (38:9-3-4) turned into a very consistent horse, winning multiple TAB Federals at Canberra, while the Michael Lunn-trained Witness Collector (42:8-2-7) has been a good earner for the Dubbo stable.
In 2020, impressive sprinter Conscript made it two from two following a dominant win in the Silver Goblet.
The Time For War gelding has lived up to an outstanding two-year-old season, starting 18 times for seven wins and six placings, earning over $300,000 in prize money following metropolitan wins at Canterbury, Rosehill, and Randwick.
Ryan took out his second Silver Goblet in three years after winning the race with Nuke in 2018.
Also coming out of the 2018 edition was the Mark Schmetzer-trained Military Bay (39: 9-5-6), a good country performer who even won the 2020 NSW Picnic Champion Series final.
Another good country type coming out of the 2018 feature was the Darren Hyde-trained Bedtime Stories (43: 6-3-3), with the Dubleo mare winning a metropolitan race at Canterbury and over $150,000 in prize money.
The 2021 Silver Goblet was run and won in very heavy conditions, with the Cameron Crockett-trained Limited Reality starting at $1.35.
The Scone galloper hung on for a close 0.12 of a length win from the Clint Lundholm-trained Watch Me Rumble (Elissa Meredith, $6).
Lightly raced, the Unencumbered gelding has only had seven career starts for three wins, most recently finishing down the track in Highway Handicaps at Kembla Grange and Royal Randwick late last year.
On the other hand, Watch Me Rumble has gone on to be a very good horse for connections, starting 17 times for four wins and four placings.
Last year, impressive youngster Gallant Star was a dominant winner in the Silver Goblet, with Clayton Gallagher getting the job done for Dubbo trainer Brett Robb.
The Zoustar gelding backed that effort up with another dominant Dubbo win before back-to-back placings in town.
The three-year-old’s on the road back from injury and could be anything, and connections will likely set the Dubbo galloper for the 2024 Country Championships and bigger races down the track.
Coming out of the 2022 Silver Goblet were other nice horses, Demitasse (Paul Messara, 7:3-1-1), which finished second in a Highway Handicap at Gosford earlier this month, and Raging Rush (Clint Lundholm, 9:4-0-0), which is a last-start Narromine winner.
Recent Silver Goblet honour roll
2018: Nuke – Gerald Ryan, James Innes Jnr
2019: Eiger – Brett Cavanough, Aaron Bullock
2020: Conscript – Gerald Ryan, Adrian Layt
2021: Limited Reality – Cameron Crockett, Aaron Bullock
2022: Gallant Star – Brett Robb, Clayton Gallagher
