CF Orr Stakes Barrier Draw & Final Field

Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr) have a strong hand, preparing both early market elects in I'm Thunderstruck (barrier 9) and Jacquinot (barrier 4), the latter being the sole three-year-old in this field, and the Golden Rose winner returned with an eye-catching win at Sandown on January 26.

With a Group 1 victory over Alligator Blood in the Makybe Diva Stakes, along with second-place finishes in the Memsie Stakes, Caulfield Stakes and Cox Plate (the last two coming behind Anamoe), the spring form of I'm Thunderstruck does stand out.

Ben & JD Hayes also have dual representation, saddling up both Mr Brightside (barrier 10) and Gentleman Roy (barrier 3) for this seven-furlong feature.

Mr Brightside has put together an imposing record already, with nine wins from 19 starts and the highlight came in last year's Doncaster Handicap at Randwick.

Although weight-for-age is a genuine query for Gentleman Roy, he's very honest and puts himself right on the speed, while he arrives here off a brave fresh win over this track/trip.

Toorak Handicap winner Tuvalu (barrier 1) is among the acceptances and this Lindsey Smith-trained galloper has a model of consistency, having only finished outside of the top two once in 13 starts and that was a third in the Rupert Clarke, where he was beaten under half a length.

Callsign Mav (barrier 8), Western Empire (barrier 5), Aegon (barrier 7), Nugget (barrier 6) and Turaath (barrier 2) are also in the final field for the 2023 CF Orr Stakes.

The CF Orr Stakes was traditionally a starting point for the premier middle-distance and staying horses of the previous spring, with Let's Elope, Jeune and Saintly all resuming Melbourne Cup winners to have won this race in the 90's.

As the honour roll over the last decade or so supports, sprinter-milers have mainly been aimed at this seven-furlong feature, with Maldivian (2009) the last of that older profile, winning this first-up from a Cox Plate victory.

Run over 1400m and under weight-for-age conditions, this race is generally the first Group 1 of the calendar year in Australia.

Alabama Express (2020), Streets Of Avalon (2021) and Tofane (2022) have won the last three editions of the CF Orr Stakes.