Our Ivanhowe Heads 2016 The BMW Field

The Lee & Anthony Freedman-trained German import Our Ivanhowe is one of the headline final acceptors for The BMW 2016 at Rosehill Gardens in Sydney on Easter Saturday.

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Preferment is one of the early favourites to take out Saturday’s 2016 The BMW at Rosehill Gardens. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

The marquee race on the program, this year’s weight-for-age $1.5 million Group 1 The BMW (2400m) is due to run as Race 7 at 4:30pm (AEDT) and has attracted a final field of 10 runners.

It might be a below capacity line-up but the class is top notch including the acceptance of Soldier Hollow stallion Our Ivanhowe third-up.

Third in last year’s Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m), the six-year-old is back up over more metres for the first time this season and races in Sydney for the first time.

His latest lead-up was a fifth when only one and a half lengths off the winner in the Group 1 Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington on March 12.

The two weeks between runs suits, but how he handles the Sydney way of going will be key to his chances of becoming the first The BMW winner to back-up off an Australian Cup run since Cedarberg (7^th) in 2011.

This year’s Australian Cup winner Preferment is the other early favourite in The BMW betting this Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival.

The four-year-old Zabeel stallion is one of four in the mix for Sydney’s best Chris Waller who is yet to train a The BMW winner.

Preferment won the Australian Cup on protest after the original quinella with Awesome Rock was reversed by the stewards, but is out to be first past the post in this.

The international performer has had just one official Rosehill run before when runner-up in the Group 1 Rosehill Guineas (2000m) last season and jumps from a nice barrier four draw with Hugh Bowman retaining the ride.

Another top Australian Cup graduate in Saturday’s rematch is the David Hayes & Tom Dabernig-trained Rising Romance.

A five-year-old daughter of Ekraar, the 2014 ATC Oaks winner is the sole mare taking on the boys in the race this season looking to become the second in three years to win following the success of Silent Achiever (2014).

Rising Romance gets the rails run from barrier one, which hasn’t produced a The BMW winner since Grand Zulu (2004), and has Craig Williams in the saddle shooting for his second after success aboard Littorio (2010) six years ago.

Drawn one beside Rising Romance in barrier two for dual The BMW winning jockey Damien Oliver – Blutigeroo (2007) and Cedarberg (2011) – is the Anthony Cummings-trained youngster Montaigne.

The last three-year-old to win the classic was Fiveandahalfstar (2013) for the same trainer.

He was more experienced however and won the previous season’s Victoria Derby, while Road To Rock gelding Montaigne has had just three Group tests to date including his brave second to Tarzino in last weekend’s Group 1 Rosehill Guineas (2000m) at the track.

Along with Preferment Waller’s other runners are proven two miler Who Shot Thebarman coming off a third in the Group 3 Sky High Stakes (2000m) from March 12, the imported Storm The Stars and his reigning Sydney Cup winner Grand Marshal.

The other standout in the field is the Murray Baker-trained Caulfield Cup champ last campaign Mongolian Khan third-up on the weekend.

See below for the full The BMW 2016 field, barriers and jockeys then head to our preferred online bookmaker Ladbrokes.com.au to enjoy up to $500 in bonuses as a first-time depositing player when you quote the code BETBONUS!

2016 The BMW Final Field & Barrier Draw

Rosehill Race 7 (4:30pm) – 26/03/2016