Reigning two-year-old champion Bar Room Banta will be looking to make it back-to-back NSW Breeders Challenge Series titles when the 2021 edition moves into the semi-final stage.
The Michael Stanley trained colt was the first horse to secure a spot in this year’s three-year-old semi-finals back on the 7th of September when he smashed the Leeton track record on the opening night of the series.
A year on from his victory in the two-year-old final, Bar Room Banta will be looking to repeat the dose when the final is contested at Tabcorp Park Menangle on 30 October.
First he’ll have to navigate his way through a hot field of semi-final qualifiers though, headed by another finalist from last year, Rickie Alchin’s Captain Crusader who secured qualification with victory at Menangle on Tuesday.
The in-form Titian Raider will go into the semi-finals on the back of five straight victories for trainer Harry Martin and driver Glenn McElhinney.
There are 11 heat winners on the order of entry top 20 list, rounded out by Rickie Alchin’s Our Action Man who scraped into semis contention after finishing third behind Jason Grimson’s Hy Voltage on Tuesday.
The three-year-old fillies are headed by another Tuesday winner, David Thorn’s Anntonia who will be looking to go one better than her runner-up performance in last year’s final.
She is a clear top qualifier after accruing more than $200,000 in stakes money this season alone.
The final two spots were secured last night when the Michael Formosa driven and trained Stellina beat home Chris Bourke’s Feral Frankie in Newcastle.
The semi-finals for both the three-year-old fillies and colts and geldings will be raced next Saturday night at Tabcorp Park Menangle.
The two-year-old semi-finals will be held at the same venue tonight, with the top five from each semi-final to win a spot in the 2021 NSW Breeders Challenge Finals on 30 October.
Owners and trainers are reminded that despite the order of entry positions, they are still required to nominate for the semi-finals by the deadline time – 9:30am on Monday, 18 October. Semi-final fields will be released at 4pm on Monday.
The full order of entry lists are available here
THREE-YEAR-OLD FILLIES ORDER OF ENTRY
THREE-YEAR-OLD COLTS & GELDINGS ORDER OF ENTRY
The top 20 are:
3YO Colts & Geldings
- CAPTAIN CRUSADER
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- TITIAN RAIDER
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- MAJOR BRACKEN
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- GORDONS BAY
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- LYRICAL GENIUS
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- THE STAIN
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- CASSIUS DECK
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- HY VOLTAGE
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- SUNSHINE PEPPER
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- BAR ROOM BANTA
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- THREE IN HEAVEN
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- KASHED UP
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- POPS BOY
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- ROCKET BOY
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- MACH DADDY
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- ELECTRIC EYE
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- HELL OF A MEMORY
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- WESTERN BILL
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- BRAEDOS LAD
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- OUR ACTION MAN
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3YO Fillies
- ANNTONIA
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- BETTOR BE KEPT
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- HEAVENLY HOLLY
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- CHRISSY CHIC
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- WINONA WRITER
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- GOOD CHEDDAR THIS
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- STELLINA
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- BALLERINI
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- HEADTURNER
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- ABOUT TO PEAK
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- ARTIES DIME
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- INFINITY BEACH
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- MACHS LEGACY
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- IM DESIRABLE
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- MISS LEMON
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- A PERFECT DANCE
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- FERAL FRANKIE
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- ONE REASON
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- GRACIE TALTOA
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- GLAMOUR FOX
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