2016 Show County Quality Nominations Feature Decision Time

Defending champion Decision Time is nominated to shoot for back-to-back wins in the Show County Quality 2016 this Saturday in Sydney at Royal Randwick Racecourse.

Decision Time is nominated to defend his title in Saturday’s 2016 Show County Quality at Randwick in Sydney. Photo: Steve Hart.

The Clarry Conners-trained son of Foreplay is one of 12 early entries for this weekend’s $125,000 Group 3 Show County Quality (1200m) on Warwick Stakes Day, nominations extended until 11:00am (AEST) on Tuesday.

Now a veteran nine-year-old, Decision Time hasn’t won a race in the past 12 months since his upset win at $26 over Boss Lane in last spring’s Show County.

He raced just last Saturday at Rosehill and crossed only a half-length back for fifth behind His Majesty in the Benchmark 92 over 1100m carrying 58kg.

Last year’s runner-up Boss Lane is also in the mix again this season, the Ron Quinton-trained Dubawi gelding out to atone for his last start 12th as a $101 roughie behind Chautauqua in the Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) at the track on April 2.

The highest-rated of the Show County Quality nominations is the Kris Lees-trained mare Lucia Valentina, who is more likely to take on Winx in the Group 2 Warwick Stakes (1400m) on the card.

The internationally-performed daughter of Savabeel makes her six-year-old debut on Saturday racing for the first time since taking her earnings up over $4.1 million with a 2.3 length victory in Randwick’s Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) on April 9.

Lees has another Group 1 winner nominated for the Show County Quality in Le Romain.

The Hard Spun gelding defeated Press Statement at the track on March 5 to win the Group 1 Randwick Guineas (1600m), his second victory from three runs at Randwick.

He backed-up that up with a disappointing seventh to Tarzino in the Group 1 Rosehill Guineas (2000m) over more distance, but the now four-year-old will be better suited to 1400m first-up on Saturday.

Another last start winner nominated to kick off a Sydney Spring Racing Carnival campaign in the Show County is the John O’Shea-trained Vashka.

A consistent son of Exceed And Excel, the six-year-old was last seen bosting back-to-back wins in Rosehill’s Group 2 Shannon Stakes (1500m) and Caulfield’s Group 3 Moonga Stakes (1400m) back in the spring of 2015.

He hasn’t raced since Caulfield Cup Day last year, but has trialled well twice in Sydney leading up to his return including a last start third in an 850m Randwick hit-out from August 9 behind last year’s Show County Quality runner-up Boss Lane.

O’Shea meanwhile also has Generalife nominated for Godolphin, the Lonhro seven-year-old after his first win from seven starts at the Randwick track.

Other notable Show County Quality entries this season include the Hawkes Racing-trained Messene enjoyed a 900m trial win at Rosehill on Monday and Peter & Paul Snowden’s class mare Tycoon Tara.

The Written Tycoon six-year-old won the weight-for-age Group 2 Missile Stakes (1200m) first-up on a Heavy (10) Randwick track on August 6 after her Golden Slipper winning stablemate Capitalist was scratched from the race.

She’ll vie for another Group win on the weekend, the stable hoping to get a rain-affected track once more.

See below for the original Show County Quality 2016 nominations, the field out on Wednesday followed by the markets at Ladbrokes.com.au – home of Odds Boost!

2016 Show County Quality Nominations

Randwick Racecourse – 20/08/2016