By Ray Hickson
Trainer Joe Pride says his spring plans for talented mare Kylease will be a little clearer if she can rebound from a shock first-up defeat and get back on track at Canterbury on Wednesday.
But his target for stablemate Fasika is locked in as he confirmed the $7.5m The Golden Eagle (1500m) will be the dream and she won’t race again until the Silver Eagle on October 12.
Kylease was beaten as an odds-on favourite at Canterbury two weeks ago but when you consider the circumstances, having to burn hard from a wide gate, to be only beaten 1.8 lengths was a huge effort.
Pride said the four-year-old should have her chance in the Kia Handicap (1100m) to right the ship.
“Initially there was a little disappointment because I thought she was an absolute good thing but when you watch the run she was given no hope,’’ he said.
“She ran two sub 10.5 second furlongs to start the race. You can’t go that quick and win.
“She was made to work. She was susceptible last time first-up, she got beaten then bounced back with a win.’’
The Punter’s Intelligence sectional data backs up Pride’s assessment – Kylease clocked 7.75 for the first 100m then 10.02 from the 1000m-800m and 10.24 from the 800m-600m.
Pride said all the signs are the run hasn’t done the mare any harm and with barrier three for in-form jockey Nash Rawiller he’s expecting to see what she’s made of.
“It took a couple of days but she seems fine, she was full of bounce on Saturday morning,’’ he said.
“I just wanted to make sure she drew well and she’s done that, it’s a good race, though, I don’t underestimate the opposition.
“I haven’t got a specific program for her to fit into, I’m happy to take her along. I have a couple of races in mind, don’t get me wrong, but she’ll tell me along the way how high I can raise the bar.’’
Kylease was $2.60 favourite with TAB on Tuesday while stablemate Don’t Leave Me Out, who will take his place against Kylease, is a $23 chance.
Pride said the five-year-old, a brave second at Canterbury a month ago, also had excuses for his last start eighth behind subsequent Cameron Handicap winner Rock.
“He had a torrid run, he just threw his hands up and apologised,’’ he said.
“He missed the start and hunted forward and that was just a disaster.
“She has a bit more class than him, he probably wanted a softer draw to get a better run but they could string out. It’s not very often you get slowly run 1100m at Canterbury.’’
Kylease's first-up run at Canterbury on September 11
Meanwhile, Golden Eagle bound Fasika will have a barrier trial prior to lining up in the $500,000 Silver Eagle (1300m) at Randwick on October 12.
The four-year-old lost her unbeaten record but no admirers with her close second to Mizzy in the Sheraco Stakes (1200m) on September 14.
“I thought she went well enough first-up, I thought it was as good as a win,’’ he said.
“There’s only one opportunity to run in this Golden Eagle and I knew they would give her a considerable hike in the handicap and we got that.’’
Pride said he doesn’t want to be in the Golden Eagle "to make up the numbers’’ so needs Fasika to finish in the top three to warrant taking on what looks a strong inaugural edition of the race exclusively for four-year-olds at Rosehill on November 2.
All the fields, form and replays for Wednesday's Canterbury meeting