“It’ll spank them”: Pfitzner declares far superior international in the Queen Elizabeth

Miles Pfitzner believes Via Sistina will make a statement on Saturday in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick.

The former European galloper blew away her rivals on debut three weeks ago when donning the iconic emerald green and white silks for Yulong with James McDonald in the saddle.

McDonald sticks on Saturday and has dealt with a perfect draw in five with a number of her key rivals drawing wide in Mr Brightside (9), Cascadian (10) and Place Du Carrousel (8).

Liking Via Sistina to star international stayer Dubai Honour who won the 2023 edition of the Queen Elizabeth, Pfitzner believes the Chris Waller-trained mare will prove yet again how superior international stayers are compared to the locals.

“Do you remember when there was a horse running around called Anamoe and a horse called Dubai Honour came from overseas and won, Via Sistina has Dubai Honour written all over it,” Pfitzner told SENTrack.

“It’ll spank them in the Queen Elizabeth, I do worry about internationals second-up in Australia but I just think Via Sistina is that much better than the rest of them here.

“They’re going to go absolute flat out in terms of the speed, we know what Pride Of Jenni is going to do, Mr Brightside will trail, Cascadian will try to keep up, from a map perspective it’s a stalk and swamp job.

“It’s that simple, this horse is my best bet of the day, it’s so far superior to the other horses in this race and this is where we get a reality check about the breeding we have in Australia at 2000m+ we are so far behind it is not funny and this will prove it.”

Via Sistina is the current $2.15 favourite with Sportsbet with All-Star Mile winner Pride Of Jenni the next in line at $4.20.

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