whats your best

Tempted the Best Bet at Randwick Tomorrow

Inglis Millennium Day has been kind to jockey Chad Schofield in recent years, and he believes his luck is already running hot before a race is run this Saturday at Randwick.

Schofield has secured the prized first ride on star filly Tempted in the Group 3 Eskimo Prince Stakes (1200m) for three-year-olds, a race he won last year aboard Public Attention. The booking comes as Tempted resumes for trainer Ciaron Maher and Godolphin, with the filly opening as a short-priced favourite to make a winning return.

Tempted hasn’t been seen since finishing best of the rest behind Ka Ying Rising in October’s Everest, but her resume speaks for itself. A three-time Group 2 winner, she has a proven record of firing fresh and did exactly that last spring when winning the Run To The Rose first-up. She comes into Saturday off a single trial, where she caught the eye finishing fourth at Randwick on January 27.

While James McDonald partnered Tempted in that trial, he will ride Wodeton on Saturday, opening the door for Schofield — an opportunity he says he is “very thankful” for. After riding the filly in trackwork at Bong Bong on Monday, Schofield walked away impressed.

“She’s extremely professional, a very good racehorse who knows her job,” Schofield said. “She loves her work and is just an incredibly sharp filly. I really liked the look of her trial and I think she’s going to be very hard to beat.”

Maher believes Tempted has returned even stronger this preparation and expects a similar campaign to the spring, where she stepped from 1200m to 1400m before dropping back to 1200m for The Everest.

“She’s naturally matured a little bit,” Maher said. “She travelled well in the trial, quickened nicely and has come through it well. This looks a good starting point for her.”

With proven class, a strong fresh record, and a confident jockey on board, Tempted shapes as the standout on Inglis Millennium Day — and the one they all have to beat in the Eskimo Prince.