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It’s Dalasan vs Warning…plus a few others?

VRC Derby winner Warning looms as the main stumbling block to SA star Dalasan claiming the middle leg of Adelaide’s three-year-old staying treble in the Furphy Chairman’s Stakes at Morphettville tomorrow – but the race contains more depth than early markets might suggest.

Following his convincing win in the Port Adelaide Guineas over 1800m on April 4, Dalasan is the popular pick for tomorrow’s 2000m Group 3 event, with betting suggesting Warning is the only serious threat.

And the theory has merit, given the top duo’s respective records.

Dalasan – trained at Morphettville by Leon Macdonald and Andrew Gluyas are heading towards the 2500m SA Derby on May 9 – already has nearly $2 million in the bank, and was dominant in the Guineas when ridden by Jason Holder for the first time. The win followed a career-best effort when finishing a slightly unlucky fifth in the rich All-Star Mile at Caulfield behind Regal Power on March 14.

Anthony Freedman’s Warning also oozes class, as evidenced by his outstanding performances during the 2019 Melbourne spring carnival, culminating in his dominant VRC Derby (2500m) win. He has been competitive during his four-start Sydney autumn campaign, and may appreciate an anticipated firmer surface at Morphettville tomorrow.

Dalasan and Warning could easily fight out the finish, but the field contains plenty of promising stayers, with their best performances potentially ahead of them.

Themoonitegambler’s run in the Port Adelaide Guineas was almost as good as Dalasan’s effort. The John McArdle-trained runner was wide for much of the trip and still fought on well to finish third, beaten around three lengths. With a kinder run tomorrow, Themoonlitegambler should be very competitive.

Like Warning, Skiddaw’s last start was in the Group 1 Australian Derby and both were beaten a long way on the heavy track. Prior to journeying to Randwick, Skiddaw – trained by Melbourne Cup winner Danny O’Brien – produced a cracking run to win a Bendigo metropolitan race over 2200m, racing wide throughout the trip.

The Hayes-Hayes-Dabernig team has a big opinion of Yourdeel, whose last start on a biased and unsuitable Caulfield track can go in the ‘forgive’ file, while Playoffs – trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace – was unlucky in the Guineas and could also play a role.

The Macdonald-Gluyas combination is going for its third Chairman’s Stakes tomorrow with Dalasan, while Leon Macdonald won it twice previously as a solo trainer.

Victory for Tooradin would be Shayne Cahill’s third Chairman’s Stakes success as a jockey.

Selections: 1. Dalasan; 2. Themoonlitegambler; 3. Warning; 4. Playoffs.

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