Racing: Ladies looking good at Te Rapa

Wall Street (second left) shows his power when winning the A$1 million Emirates Stakes at Flemington in November. Photo / Getty Images

It is likely to be ladies' day at Te Rapa this afternoon. We Can Say It Now and Veloce Bella can provide the females with victory at group one level in the $200,000 Waikato Draught Sprint and $200,000 Darci Brahma International.

We Can Say It Now has freakish ability and although Te Rapa's feature sprint has never been considered a race for 3-year-olds, this Cambridge filly looks anything but a 3-year-old.

The strength she displayed to power away from the opposition by a wide margin in the group one Captain Cook Stakes at Trentham last start will be one of the important assets today.

She will need every bit of that strength as she faces off against two real powerhouses in Wall Street and Mufhasa. This is going to be a race that will be talked about for years.

Coup Align has picked the worst possible race to try 1400m at this level. There will be enormous pressure throughout the race and if Coup Align can absorb that pressure and withhold sustained finishes from We Can Say It Now, Wall Street and Mufhasa it will be the performance of the season.

As good as he is, he might not be good enough for that.

You probably wouldn't want to be taking anything shorter than the $2.80 the TAB were yesterday offering for We Can Say It Now, but she is the horse to beat.

Mufhasa and Wall Street for all multiples and Keep The Peace, because it's a huge pressure race, can sneak into it. She has excellent staying powers and that will be critical late in this race.

The Darci Brahma International has a very even look about it. Veloce Bella (No6, R7) gets the vote because of her magnificent record at Te Rapa, where she has won five times, four over this 2000m trip.

Forget she went around on the wet track in the Wellington Cup - it just wasn't her race. She has a fabulous finish on her and with the pace likely to be solid with 3-year-old Arakti in the field, she will be well suited. The barrier draws make the race tricky.

The outside gates stablemates Vosne Romanee (No4) and Booming (No1) have landed make their jobs so much more difficult. Despite his 00870 formline, Vosne Romanee looks like he is about to strike form again. His seventh to Booming in the Zabeel Classic was good considering he drew wide and was off the track for a good bit of the race. If Hayden Tinsley can get him anything like a run from No9 barrier he can be in the finish. Mill Duckie (No7) needs only a change of luck.

Lady Chapel, Stellaphyta, Shantaine, Destiny Cove, Fleur De Lune and King's Rose, because it's a fillies' race, are other females that are strong winnng chances on the card.

Shantaine (No3, R4) looks a great prospect. She didn't get a lot of luck when beaten favourite last start at Trentham. You need to go back to her huge winning performance at Manawatu three starts back to know what she's capable of. It's never easy stepping from 1600m to 2100m, but she looks a solid mare who has been finishing her races off strongly. Don't leave Prairie Star (No1) out.

Lady Chapel (No4, R1) finished only eighth in the Karaka Million, but it was a lot better than that sounds on paper. She covered extra ground and finished off nicely to be only 2.7 lengths away. A similar effort would take her close here. Beejay Belle (No1) confirmed stable confidence when she won on debut at Pukekohe and rates highly and St Darci (No6) impressed at the trials.

Stellaphyta (No11, R2) won't be long in maidens. She cost herself winning through greenness when second at Trentham last start and has a nice amount of time to freshen, something the High Chaparrals seem to appreciate. She should get the run of the race from her inside barrier.

Vosne Romanee's half-brother Nuits St Georges (No3, R3) was impressive enough winning on debut to suggest that the difficult task of winning the next start after maidens may not be beyond him. There was a lot to like about the way he got to the finish.

What a race it should be between King's Rose (No1, R5) and Dating (No2), even though the talent doesn't fall away after that pair. King's Rose is all class and Dating's fresh-up win at Trentham last start was stunning. Insurgent (No12) is a back-running filly who just needs some luck to figure and Annie Higgins (No4) and Midnight Oil (No7) are difficult to ignore for multiple tickets. Great race.

Destiny Cove (No5, R8) is dropping back a rating band after chasing home talented Celtic Fantasy at Pukekohe last start. She makes a lot of appeal in an otherwise even field.

Fleur De Lune (No9, R10) was more than a little stiff when she finished fourth at Ellerslie last start. She got well back and ran on strongly over the 1200m and is going to appreciate the 1400m this time.