War Machine aims for Aurie’s Star weight record

The Ben, Will and JD Hayes-trained gelding will be out to set a weight-carrying record with 60.5kg in the 1200-metre event that is now the Victorian Racing Club’s first Black Type race of the new season.

The race named after the champion sprinter from the 1930s became a Listed race in 2005, the year before it was first run on a Saturday event, having originally been run on a Wednesday at the end of August before a six-year stint as a Sunday event.

Fields Of Omagh, Niconero, Hey Doc and Sports are multiple Group 1 winners who adorn the Aurie’s Star honour roll, but Tiger Tees owns the Black Type weight-carrying record after lumping 59.5kg to victory in 2014.

Just 10 times has a horse carried more weight than Tiger Tees since 2005, the only placegetter being the horse to attempt it with at least as much weight as War Machine will carry this weekend.

El Segundo never won the Aurie’s Star Handicap, but he launched four spring campaigns in it, including third placings under 63.5kg in 2009 and 62.5kg in his Cox Plate-winning year of 2007.

He is the only horse to run in the Aurie’s Star Handicap off a higher peak rating than what War Machine owns.

El Segundo won his Cox Plate in a Timeform rating of 125, three pounds higher than War Machine’s peak.

War Machine’s biggest win is the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (120), but he posted his peak rating of 122 in the Group 2 Gilgai Stakes over the Aurie’s Star Handicap course last October.

The next highest-rated runner in Saturday’s race is Star Patrol, but his 119 peak came when winning the Gilgai Stakes the year before War Machine, while Arkansaw Kid is next best at 118.

War Machine heads Aurie’s Star betting at $3.60 and concentrating on those towards the head of the market has been a profitable tactic of late in that event.

Niconero won the first Black Type edition as $2.90 favourite with seven other favourites successful since.

Nine of the other 13 winners since 2005 started $6 or shorter, with So Si Bon – who won at $21 in 2019 – the only winner at greater than $10.

Ndola, a stablemate to War Machine and Arkansaw Kid ($6), holds down the $4.60 second line with Boomtown Boss ($6.50), Cote Atlantique ($7) and Star Patrol ($7.50) the others at single-figure odds.