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By Ray Hickson

How will the Golden Slipper hero Stay Inside return? Is he a TAB Everest contender? Where do Paulele and Remarque stand in the Everest picture? There are so many questions that could be answered in Saturday’s Group 3 $160,000 San Domenico Stakes (1100m) at Kembla Grange.

And what role will the weather play with significant rain forecast for the first half of the week, after a run of good tracks it appears likely it’ll be a soft deck come Saturday. Then there’s the fact that Kembla doesn’t usually stage 1100m races so the start will be in the 1200m chute with a relatively short run to the first turn.

It generally takes a very smart three-year-old to win the San Domenico, and three of the past seven have been won by the Hawkes stable – Exceedance (2019), Star Turn (2016) and Nostradamus (2014).

Let’s have an early look at the contenders for the 2021 edition:

Captivant (Peter & Paul Snowden): The Champagne Stakes winner from the autumn over a mile and he really did excel as he stepped beyond the pure sprint trips. That said he did finish an excellent fifth in the Golden Slipper. Needed a bit of a push early in his only official trial but went to the line full of running. You’d imagine he’ll find a few of these a bit sharp, though if we’re dealing with a seriously wet track he may be an upset chance.

Captivant (Pic: Steve Hart)

Gleneagles (David Payne): Showed plenty of promise in the late autumn. The form out of his maiden win at Hawkesbury has stood up and he jumped 400m to win the Clarendon at the same track, a race that can produce a smart one. Shade disappointing in the Queensland Sires’ but looked up and ready winning a recent trial. He’ll win more races but prefer to see how he measures up here.

In The Congo (Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott): Made the transition from a couple of good performances in the off-season with an unlucky second in the Rosebud at his first run for two months. How close he would have got to the winner is up for debate but it was a run that showed he’s up to this level and has a racing style that will give him every chance regardless of the draw. Proven down to a soft 7.

Kalashnikov (Peter & Paul Snowden): Black Opal winner but wasn’t up to the task in the Golden Slipper after enjoying a good run just behind the speed. Whether that was in any significant part due to the soft 7 is possible as he also failed in the Pierro Plate in similar ground. First trial back was smooth then he wasn’t asked to do anything in a second.

Maotai (Kacy Fogden): Far from disgraced at his Sydney debut in the Rosebud, he sat outside the leader and was still there fighting in a line for the minor money at the 100m. So he’s one horse worth another look at on Saturday to see where he stands. Yet to see any kind of wet track and that would be the main query.

Mazu (Peter & Paul Snowden): No doubt this colt has some talent but on face value he had every chance in the Rosebud, landing fourth with cover behind Maotai and he wasn’t able to get past that horse at the finish. Arguably he should have won the Pago Pago in the autumn, and he seems to be fine with soft ground on a small sample of evidence. Probably needs to improve but has the scope to.

Paulele (James Cummings): Gave his rivals weight and a solid beating first-up in the Rosebud, recording easily the fastest last 600m of the race so while a couple were unlucky behind him he was clearly superior. He was similarly dominant winning the Kindergarten on a soft 7 back in April and he may well have been underestimated. Foolproof type and a serious chance.

Remarque (Team Hawkes): It’s time for this colt to show what he’s made of, he’s carried quite a bit of hype through his three starts to date for one win. He had a hard luck story in the Rosebud, as he was kept in a pocket from about the 350m-200m while the winner sprinted and he eventually hit the line strongly into third place. He’s struck a heavy track at the trials and won.

Shaquero. (Pic: Steve Hart).

Shaquero (Chris Waller): Had a busy two-year-old season but showed quality winning the Breeders’ Plate, Magic Millions and Pago Pago before finishing down the track in the Slipper. His two trials this time around have been somewhat typical of the stable, just going around untested. How wet the track is could be a factor for him but he’s too good to rule out at this stage of the week.

Stay Inside (Richard & Michael Freedman): All eyes are on how the Slipper winner returns and what is right in his favour is his ability to handle any conditions, having won twice on a soft 7 including the big one. Plenty to like about his first trial a month ago and in his second he was not put under any pressure cruising around behind them. Hard to knock him at all.

Sword Of State (Jamie Richards): New Zealand’s best two-year-old of last season and was a runaway Group 1 winner of their Slipper equivalent back in March. He trialled twice in NZ before crossing the Tasman and finished alongside Stay Inside in a Randwick trial last week. Soft track form at home is excellent. He’s a little hard to line up but creates plenty of interest.

Early TAB betting (as at 2pm Monday):
$2.30 Stay Inside
$4 Paulele, Remarque
$11 In The Congo, Sword Of State
$17 Captivant, Shaquero
$34 Kalashnikov, Maotai, Mazu
$67 Gleneagles

All the entries, form and replays for Saturday's Kembla Grange meeting