Archibald duo boast the right form for The Coast

by Ray Thomas of Racing & Sports

Cristal Clear boasts a recent Group 2 win, Depth Of Character has form around super mare Autumn Glow, and together they give the Rob and Annabel Archibald stable an imposing stable presence for the Listed $500,000 The Coast (1600m) at Gosford on Saturday.

Trainer Rob Archibald said Cristal Clear and Depth Of Character are "doing everything right" ahead of the Gosford stand-alone meeting. "We are very happy with Cristal Clear, he's going really well,'' Archibald told Racing And Sports.

"He won the Ajax Stakes first-up, ran in the Doncaster (Mile), and then last start finished a good third to Hellsing at Randwick.

"Depth Of Character was also very good first-up when fourth in the Hellsing race and he has taken improvement from that run.''

Depth Of Character, a Queensland Guineas winner last season, is attempting to go one better in The Coast after finishing second to Know Thyself in the Gosford race 12 months ago.

Although Depth Of Character hasn't won a race this season, he did run a close third in the Group 3 Bill Ritchie Handicap then later in the spring was a very competitive fourth (Cristal Clear ran sixth) behind emerging champion mare Autumn Glow in the Golden Eagle.

Both Cristal Clear and Depth Of Character have the right formlines for The Coast and are rated at $6 and $8 in early TAB Fixed Odds betting behind favourite Zambardo at $4.50 for the rich Gosford race.

The Coast has attracted 19 quality entries with Cristal Clear (102) and Depth Of Character (100) among six with a handicap rating of 100 or higher.