Friday, 27 July 2012:
An opportunity to capture an end-of-season windfall has enticed trainer Desleigh Forster to raise the bar with talented three-year-old I'm Cool.
Forster said the lure of a $21,000 QTIS bonus added to the standard $32,000 first prizemoney cheque is the primary reason for I'm Cool starting at Doomben on Saturday.
"He'll be a four-year-old next week and this is the last opportunity for him to win a QTIS bonus race," she said.
"I'm throwing him in the deep end but he's always shown me plenty of ability and I think it's worth a throw at the stumps."
The gelding's dominant victory at his debut at Eagle Farm on July 11 also helped convince Forster to depart from a more orthodox program of progressing through the lower grades before tackling stronger Saturday competition.
I'm Cool scored by seven lengths in slow going at his first start when ridden by apprentice Rosie Myers but Forster is sceptical about his wet track prowess.
"Watching the replay, he was dipping and diving a fair bit in the slow going and Rosie said it was only his natural ability that got him through it," she said.
"I don't know how strong the opposition was behind him that day but he's a pretty bomb-proof horse and he's done really well since that win."
While I'm Cool is the least experienced runner against his three-year-old rivals, the gelding is attractively weighted with apprentice Kirk Matheson's 3kg claim bringing his handicap down to a luxury 51.5kg.
Deagon trainer Mick Lakey, like Forster, has been tempted to chase a QTIS bonus with Gypsy Pearl, a stunning 10-length winner in a midweek maiden race at Doomben on July 18.
"I wouldn't mind a few millimetres of rain before the race because she handles the wet really well and it would limit the chances of a few others," Lakey said.
"It's a big step up in grade and if wasn't the last QTIS race she was eligible to run in then I probably wouldn't be heading this way with her.
"I'm a little bit reserved about her chances. If she can finish in the placings, I'd be very happy and a win would be a bonus."
Gypsy Pearl is owned by Lakey's long-term client, John Hutchins, who has experienced success at the elite level with Typhoon Tracy, the winner of six Group One races during a stellar career with Peter Moody.
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