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By Greg Prichard

Wyong trainer Kristen Buchanan thinks it might be a case of out of sight, out of mind causing her horse Oakfield Arrow to be at big odds for Saturday’s Polytrack Provincial-Midway Championships Qualifier at their home track and that doesn’t bother her one bit.

Trainer Kristen Buchanan (Pic: Bradley Photos).

“It’s perfect, it’s less pressure,” Buchanan said.

“We’re not going to be targeted, people aren’t going to think we’re the ones to beat and we’re going to be out of trouble being from a wider gate, so I’m personally very happy with the scenario.”

Oakfield Arrow won the $500,000 Four Pillars for Midway-eligible horses over 1500 metres at Rosehill in the spring and is back late in the Provincial-Midway series to have a crack at the autumn feature for horses of her calibre.

The $150,000 race over 1350 metres at Wyong is the last of the six qualifiers, with only the wild-card race at Newcastle on Thursday left to be run after that, ahead of the $500,000 Polytrack Provincial-Midway Championships Final over 1400 metres at Randwick on April 8.

Oakfield Arrow is at $21 with TAB Fixed Odds for Saturday’s qualifier. The first two placegetters from each qualifier make it to the final, along with the first three placegetters in the wild card.

Buchanan could not afford to give Oakfield Arrow another race start between the five-year-old mare’s Four Pillars win and the Provincial-Midway series because she has reached the eligibility limit with 20 starts and five wins.

So the horse is going first-up into the qualifier off the back of two barrier trials.

“She’s going great, I’m really happy with her,” Buchanan said.

“She’s had the two trials and we went a bit easier on her in the last trial because the track was a bit average, a really wet Heavy 8. She’s in really good order and she goes into the race as good as I can possibly have her.

“We would’ve given her another run in the spring after the Four Pillars, but because that would’ve made her ineligible for the Provincial-Midway Championships we put her away instead.

“It’s a great series to aim her at and where her benchmark is at the moment it’s nice for her to step out in that restricted company. I think she’s very competitive.

“We’ve got one crack at this, one bite of the cherry, so we’ve really tried to have her ready to the minute for this race.

“She had a couple of issues with her feet when she first came back from a spell, so we got that right and then it was a matter of picking the right race.

“I was looking at a couple of different qualifiers, but I thought if we’re going in first-up then the 1350 at Wyong was the ideal option rather than a 1400 with a long straight at another track.

“Sometimes the series has thinned out a little bit by this stage as well, you’ve got a number of horses already qualified and you’re no longer facing them. I think it’s a good heat to aim her at.”

Another Wyong-trained horse, Kim Waugh’s Conrad, is the favourite for Saturday’s race at $2.90, with Acquitted, trained by Kris Lees at Newcastle, next in the market at $5. Acquitted has already had one unsuccessful attempt at qualifying, finishing fourth at his home track.

Aaron Bullock will ride Oakfield Arrow and is currently listed as likely to go at half-a-kilogram heavier than the alotted 57kg.

Oakfield Arrow wins the Four Pillars in October

The Wyong track condition was listed as a Soft 6 on Friday morning and Oakfield Arrow has had 10 starts in soft going for three wins and two placings. She has drawn barrier 12 in the 15-horse field, but that doesn’t worry Buchanan.

“There are some nice horses in it and anything can happen in these races, but the best thing about her is she’s versatile,” Buchanan said.

“So if she jumps well she could go forward if there’s not too much pressure, or if there is a lot of pressure I’m not worried about sitting three wide at Wyong with a long run in and one turn. Just get her into her rhythm, get her comfortable, and she’ll be thereabouts.

“We had a bit of rain on Thursday, with a bit more forecast leading up to the race. She’s fine on the soft track. I don’t have to worry about those things too much with her. You just don’t want anything too extreme, but as I said she adapts well to situations.”

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday's Wyong meeting