Gai's Tip Sheet
SATURDAY 11TH MAY – NEWCASTLERail Position: RAIL - TrueSOVEREIGN HILL (Race 1, 11.15pm, 1200m, R Bayliss, 59kg)Sovereign Hill was excellent on debut at Warwick Farm in October to win in dominant fashion. He's benefited from us being patient with him since then, and he's firing on all cylinders ahead of this outing. He has made two extremely favourable impressions in his trials this time in, and he took good improvement from his first one to finish clear of the field in his most recent outing at Randwick just under two weeks ago. He hasn’t missed a beat since and has toned up nicely ahead of this contest. With all the rain around over the last week the track conditions are currently testing, which is a step into the unknown, however most of them are in the same situation. Regan will be positive from barrier 5 to try and get him into a prominent position, on or just behind the speed where he can travel comfortably. Whilst we expect him to improve with the benefit of race under his belt, he looks terrific at present and with even luck in running he should be fighting out the finish.GOLDMAN (Race 6, 2.10pm, 2200m, R Bayliss, 57kg)Goldman ran an excellent race first-up at Randwick three weeks ago when returning from a long absence. He was only beaten late in the piece by a race fit Group 1 winner, and they pulled nicely clear of the remainder of the field which is always a positive sign. He’s come through the race in wonderful order, and he’s taken plenty of confidence from that terrific display. This looks a lovely steppingstone second-up, and the track transfer is to his favour as he's going to be a lot more suited to Newcastle than the tight turning Gosford circuit. Moreover, the transfer means the race increases to 2200 metres which is another big tick for him. Regan will be positive from his plum draw in barrier 1 to get him rolling along into a forward position where he can get into a comfortable rhythm and set a tempo to suit himself. With all the rain around this last week the ground conditions are somewhat testing, but he handled the Heavy 9 conditions very well first-up and he's also won on a Heavy 10 in New Zealand so we are not overly concerned by the going. He’s an exciting prospect moving forward and he is flying and present so we expect him to be hard to beat.
SIR LUCAN (Race 6, 2.10pm, 2200m, R King, 55kg)Sir Lucan made an encouraging start to his preparation first-up at Rosehill three weeks ago. He was shouldering a big weight, and to his credit he battled on gamely in the straight to not been beaten far at the line. He’s come through the run in great shape and he’s taken nice improvement in his track work since that display. We expect the rise in distance to 2200 metres here to bring about further improvement and the tempo of the race over this trip should enable him to get into a better rhythm throughout the middle stages of the contest. Rachel knows our horses very well and will look to get him rolling forward and hopefully across into a more favourable position from his wide draw in barrier 15. The rain's been falling in Sydney all week so the track conditions will be testing, but he's got good soft track form in the Europe and we're confident he'll handle it. This race looks like a nice opportunity for him to recapture his best form, and with even luck in running we hope to see him staying on strongly and battling out the finish.SATURDAY 11TH MAY – MORPHETTVILLERail Position: RAIL - +4m EntireHARVEST MOON (Race 4, 1.32pm, 2500m, W Costin, 56kg)Harvest Moon ran a solid race in her last start here at Morphettville when nothing really went to plan. To her credit she battled on gamely despite her wide trip into the straight and wasn’t beaten far at the line. She’s matured a lot this preparation and she has blossomed into a lovely natured filly who always gives her best. She’s clocked up plenty of travelling miles over the last couple of months, but she has a terrific constitution and is taking it within her stride. She’s deep into her preparation now and her race craft and tractability have improved with each start, and as such she’s ready to take on this rise in distance to 2500 metres. We are as confident as we can be that this longer trip will bring about the extra couple of lengths of improvement that she requires to get back into the Winner’s Circle. She desperately deserves to gain some much-deserved Black Type prior to the Magic Millions Broodmare Sale later this month, and this looks a good opportunity on paper so we hope to see her fighting out the finish.SOUL CHOICE (Race 5, 2.07pm, 2019m, W Costin, 57.5kg)Soul Choice was assigned a tough ask first-up but it was a suitable kick off point for her. She ran a creditable race for long way and was just out sprinted in the closing stages against race fit quality sprinter milers over a trip slightly short of her best at this stage in her career. She rises in distance to 2000 metres here and we expect this longer trip to play to her strengths. She’s a wonderful mare with a terrific constitution and mind for the job, and she has taken the trip south to Morphettville within her stride yet again. We were delighted with her gallop in the lead up to the race and she is really starting to thrive ahead of this intended assignment. She drops back in grade to Listed company here and Winona will be positive from her wide draw in barrier 11 to hopefully get across into more favourable position close to the rail where she can get into a comfortable rhythm. She’s entitled to improve a lot second-up over this suitable trip, so we are hopeful that she can strike gold and gain further Black Type in this valuable contest.SATURDAY 11TH MAY – SUNSHINE COASTRail Position: RAIL - TrueHOO YA MAL (Race 7, 4.08pm, 1800m, T Clark, 59kg)Hoo Ya Mal is in great shape ahead of his first start this campaign. He has travelled up to Queensland in fantastic order and settled in to our base there extremely well. We were delighted with his much improved trial at Canterbury last time, where he kept finding down the straight to finish strongly through the line and win his heat in good fashion. His three trials this time in have given him a good level of conditioning and he looks terrific ahead of this first-up run. He’s drawn to do no work in barrier 4, and Tim will look to use this to his advantage and get him rolling along to try and make his own luck from the front, or close to it. The rain's been falling in Queensland all week so the track conditions will be very testing, but he's got good soft track form in the U.K. early in his career and we're hopeful he'll handle it. This race is a lovely starting point for him and he's so much more relaxed now compared to when he first arrived, so fingers crossed he puts it all together on raceday to get his preparation off to an encouraging start.OSMOSE (Race 7, 4.08pm, 1800m, A HYeronimus, 57kg)Osmose ran well in her first attempt at Group 1 weight for age level in the Queen Of The Turf Stakes five weeks ago. She just over raced slightly with the blinkers back on and this left her vulnerable late when the pace quickened to the line. However, to her credit she battled on gamely and wasn’t beaten far at the finish in a high quality field. She’s come through the race in wonderful order and she’s holding her form extremely well ahead of this run. She looks terrific and has settled in to our base at Eagle Farm extremely well and is enjoying the warmer Queensland weather. We nominated her late on for this Group 2 contest when the nominations were extended to give us a chance to assess the field, and we feel that it is definitely worth having a crack at this valuable Stakes race. It’s never easy taking on the boys, but she’s a quality mare and the rise in distance to 1800 metres from her last start should suit her well. The rain's been falling at the Sunshine Coast all week so the track conditions will be very testing, but she's handled a soft track well previously in Europe earlier in her career so we're confident she’ll cope with the conditions. As you would expect, this looks a competitive race on paper but she deserves to take her chance and if she puts her best foot forward she’ll be in it for a long way.AMAZONIAN LASS (Race 8, 4.55pm, 1800m, A Hyeronimus, 56.5kg)Amazonian Lass ran a terrific race first-up at Eagle Farm two weeks ago and was unlucky to be pipped in the shadows of the post. That was a superb effort over a trip short of her best and up against a field of race fit rivals. She’s come through the race in wonderful order and has taken plenty of confidence from that tenacious display. She’s a tough filly who thrives on her work and we expect the rise in distance to 1800 metres here to bring about further improvement second-up. There’s been plenty of rain around this week and the ground condition are currently rated a Heavy 10, which is a step into the unknown but we are hopeful that she can handle the conditions presented. This race is a lovely steppingstone to the Oaks, and we are hopeful she can gain more Black Type along the way and build on her first-up display to be challenging at the finish again here.RACE ACE (Race 8, 4.55pm, 1800m, M Harley, 56.5kg)Race Ace is delighting us ahead of her first Australian start. She has settled in quickly since her arrival from New Zealand and has adapted well to her new routine. She’s clocked up plenty of commuter miles over recent weeks, but she’s handling it all very well and it’s helped her to mature enormously. She's been a busy filly over in New Zealand, having eleven starts since making her debut back in September. However, she's holding her form very well and was last seen finishing third in a Listed race over 2000 metres. She's dropping back in trip here, but the Heavy track will make it a real test of stamina which is going to play to her strengths and we're confident she'll handle the testing conditions. Martin will be positive from her good draw in barrier 4 to try and get into a forward position, but there's often a lot of early pressure in races in Queensland so she may have to settle a pair or two back in the run. She’s clearly a talented filly with good New Zealand form to her name and this race gets her on a pathway towards the Oaks, so we are hopeful that she hits the line strongly to get her Australian career off to an encouraging start for you all.
REDBREAST (Race 8, 4.55pm, 1800m, T Clark, 56.5kg)Redbreast gave us all such a huge thrill when winning by a dominant 4.65 lengths at Kensington just over two weeks ago. She was a mightily impressive winner on that occasion and never saw a rival throughout. She’s come through the run in fantastic order and we are hopeful that she will relish the step-up in distance to 1800 metres here. Even though she is a free-going filly she has always given the impression that she will thrive as she stretches out over a bit of ground, and she has always worked through the line extremely strongly in her trackwork which is usually a good indication. This represents a significant rise in grade, but she deserves to take her chance at this level and we'd love for her to gain valuable Black Type. Tim will be positive form barrier 3 and look to dictate the tempo of the race to suit himself from the front. There has been plenty of rain around this week and the track is currently rated as a Heavy 10, which is a step into the unknown. However, she won her maiden on a Soft 7 so we are hopeful that she will get through the conditions. This is a lovely steppingstone to see if she’s a Queensland Oaks filly, and if her stamina holds out we think it will take a good one to run her down.
