3 minute read

Nothing but quotes from the trainer of each runner in the $2 million The Kosciuszko (1200m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday about their chances in the popular country feature on TAB Everest Day.

1. FRONT PAGE (Trainer: Matthew Dale, Goulburn): "I thought the barrier (eight) was pretty good, given we were hoping for five or six, and he'll roll forward, so I'm happy with the way the race looks to pan out for him. It's likely him and Mogo Magic as the main leaders and there are a couple of other on-speed runners that could have an influence but the Randwick 1200 allows you to take your time and get into a rhythm, so I'm not over-thinking that. I think it's more likely we'll lead, but we're not locked into it. His devastating Wagga Town Plate win last year came when he sat off the speed. Tyler (Schiller) will weigh it up out there."

2. MNEMENTH (Trainer: Mitchell Beer, Albury): "He's as good as we can have him. He's got a good jockey (Tommy Berry), he's got a decent barrier (seven) . . . Twenty millimetres of rain on Saturday morning would help us a lot, but everything we can control is perfect so we'll just let the race happen now. He's first-up from a let-up, not a big break. He's jumped out, he's trialled, he's galloped between races . . . He's got that residual fitness, but he'll also be a bit fresh, which is what he needs. He's a pretty tough old horse with good recent form. You want to back him in a dogfight. If he gets the right run he'll be right there at the finish."

3. FAR TOO EASY (Trainer: David McColm, Murwillumbah): "The horse left the stable on Wednesday afternoon and got to Sydney early Thursday. I was here to meet him. He travelled well, I'm really happy with him. I'm a bit disappointed about the barrier (12), but, you know, that's racing and we have to live with that. That would be my main concern. I've had a discussion with James (Orman) and we're just hoping there's going to be enough speed on and I do believe there will be. No speed and we'll be trapped a bit wide, but if they get along a bit it will string the field out and we'll get across or at least get cover in behind something. That would be ideal."

4. AKASAWA (Trainers: Paul Messara and Leah Gavranich. Paul Messara quoted): "I feel good about the horse. I would've liked a better barrier (than 10). We need the race to be run a certain way and if it's run that way we're a chance. If it's not run that way we're not a chance, pretty much. We need a genuine pace. His natural propensity is to run over further, so he's got stamina while some of these horses will only run 1200. We need the speed to bring that into the equation to his advantage. Where we are in the run depends on how fast they go. He'll be where he's comfortable in the run, midfield or just beyond. A decent pace will hopefully let him get across."

5. CAVALIER CHARLES (Trainer: Matthew Dale, Goulburn): "We obviously would've preferred a middle draw, so he's going to have to take his medicine from 14 and I'll leave it to Hughie (Bowman) to go back and try and get some cover. But you look for the positives and with Cavalier Charles I'd rather be out of 14 than one, say, because back in the ruck and maybe stuck on the fence it doesn't allow him to extend. I'm pretty happy with how it's all panned out in terms of his preparation. He's physically well and he's eating up. Everything's gone according to plan, so I'm just looking forward to the race now."

6. I’VE BEAN TRYIN’ (Trainer: Matthew Kelley, Canberra): "Everything's spot on. Couldn't be happier with him, I think they're going to know we're there on the day. First-up is perfect. Bit of a softer draw (than 11) would've been nice, but we'll make do with what we've got. We've got an A-grade jockey (Jason Collett) on-board and the horse is absolutely flying. I won't dictate to Jason. If we can land midfield or a bit closer and get in close enough to the fence I can see my horse running top three. I rode him in his final gallop on Tuesday and he's going real good. Sound as a bell, eaten up. All my staff are going to Randwick. It's going to be a great day."

7. OPAL RIDGE (Trainer: Luke Pepper, Scone): "Barrier two gives James (McDonald) an opportunity to do what he wants from the start. I won't be telling him too much. He's the best in the business, so I'll leave it up to him. She's very adaptable, she can race close or come from back. I imagine she'll be midfield in the run. There's enough speed in the race, so they'll run along and maybe back it off before the corner. It may become a bit sticky on the corner, but that's why you put a jockey like James on and he's ridden her before which helps. She's got a great turn of foot and if she sees daylight and runs up to her best she'll be highly competitive."

8. MOGO MAGIC (Trainer: Scott Collings, Goulburn): "He had to do another vet examination on Thursday and he passed that, so he's ready to go. It was a minor little hiccup that we had with him, but he's fine now. He didn't miss any work and that's the beauty of it. It's not really first-up for us, it's only off a break. He's had the two trials and everything's gone to plan. If Front Page wants to go silly he can have the lead, we don't have to lead, but from barrier four we'll be near the front that's for sure. Nick (Heywood) can weigh it all up once they get out there. The horse has been trained to be able to come from off the lead as well."

9. BIANCO VILANO (Trainer: Ron Stubbs, Albury): "Everything's gone to plan. He trialled well two weeks ago and it was always our intention to go in first-up. He's presenting well and we're looking forward to it. He hasn't got a lot of first-up form but it suits to go in that way for this race. He's probably better off over 1400 to a mile, so you've got to leave the freshness in him. I'd have picked five or six if I had the choice of a barrier, so nine isn't too far off the mark. I'm sure Craig Williams can handle that. I'd say he'll take a midfield position with a bit of pace on. His strength is his finish so if we can stalk and travel well he'll hopefully run into it."

10. OUR LAST CASH (Trainer: Donna Scott, Albury): "He worked really well on Tuesday morning, he's really come on in his coat and he's been racing well. Glad we got a slot in the end, it was a bit touch and go. He travelled up to Sydney on Thursday night and here we are, ready to go. You sit on the edge of your chair waiting to see barriers come out and it was a bit flat after he drew 13, but then looking at his racing pattern I think I prefer to draw out there than inside. He can jump a bit sideways out of the barrier and wants to get over-racing, but from out there he can settle down and hopefully get a trail not too far off the pace."

11. SIZZLE MINIZZLE (Trainer: Brett Robb, Dubbo): "He looks really well and Greg (Ryan) said 'you're not going to get this horse any better' after his gallop the other day. Greg said he'd definitely picked up a lot since his only run this campaign, which he had to. He's a better horse over 1400 to a mile, but we've got him as fit as we can while keeping him as fresh as we can. He's drawn well (in five), we've just got to see if he's good enough. We need plenty of speed on to bring us into it. We need a few of them to be stopping in the last furlong. Hopefully he'll be just a bit worse than midfield in the run and finish off strongly."

12. DERRY GROVE (Trainer: Matthew Dunn, Murwillumbah): "Everything's perfect. He travelled down on Wednesday night, looked great Thursday afternoon. He's happy, so I'm happy. If anyone had asked me which gate I wanted I would've said six and that's what he drew. From that gate he'll probably settle midfield. I don't think we'll be much closer than that, to be honest, they'll go too fast. But I reckon the winner will come from midfield or worse, so I'm happy to be sort of three rows back and one off the fence rather than three wide. Randwick is very familiar to the horse after his recent wins there and stepping up to the 1200 is really going to suit him now."

13. BROKEN HILL (Trainer: Cody Morgan, Tamworth): "His trial last week was terrific, his work on Monday was faultless. I feel each year we're learning more about the race, what type of horse it takes to be competitive, and I think we're taking our best chance down there but probably running into the strongest edition of the race so far. So we'll see how that unfolds. He's strong at the end of 1200, he's won in the city at that distance, he's a big strong horse. He ticks a lot of boxes, but he does run into some horses with Group form so I'm realistic at the same time. It's going to be a challenge, but we're certainly embracing it."

14. KIMBERLEY SECRETS (Trainer: Nick Olive, Queanbeyan): "Preparation couldn't have been better. Barrier one is good, it'll allow her to use her natural early speed. I'd say she'll probably be box-seating from there, hopefully third on the fence. We had to run her in a race at Rosehill in the end to audition for a start in The Kosciuszko and that worked out well because she got picked up by a slot-holder and it was far enough out (three weeks) to allow her to freshen up just that little bit again for her target race. The stable has had a great association with Kathy O'Hara over the years, so we're happy to team up with her again here."