First emergency Atmopsherical has gained a start in the Group 1 $400,000 Canadian Club Galaxy (1100m) at Rosehill on Saturday following the scratching of Famous Seamus today.
First emergency Atmospherical has gained a start in the Galaxy following the scratching of Famous Seamus. Photo by Sarah Ebbett.
Trainer Noel Mayfield-Smith decided to keep Famous Seamus for the Group 1 $400,000 Hacer Group William Reid Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on March 27 after the Group 1 winner drew gate fifteen in the original barrier draw.
Atmospherical was also an acceptor in the Group 3 $150,000 TAB Birthday Card Stakes (1200m) but trainer David Pfieffer scratched her from the fillies and mares race when she snuck into the Galaxy field and he said his mare is ready to tackle Group 1 company again.
“She’s third-up, three weeks between runs, which she loves, and back in Sydney on her home turf,” Pfieffer told Racenet.
“She’s drawn great and should get a good run so we’re going to have a crack.”
Atmospherical has drawn favourably at seven and will be ridden by top Melbourne jockey Craig Williams who has been aboard the Northern Meteor mare at her two Autumn Carnival starts at Caulfield.
A first up third to Chautauqua in the Group 2 $200,000 Schweppes Rubiton Stakes (1100m) on February 14 was followed by a fifth to Shamal Wind in the Group 1 $400,000 Oakleigh Plate (1100m) two weeks later, beaten less than two lengths.
Pfieffer said that originally he was disappointed that Atmospherical missed out on running a place in the Oakleigh Plate but was very happy with her run overall.
“I was very happy with her run. At some stage of the race I thought I looked like the winner,” Pfieffer said.
“Tell you the truth after the race I was bit gutted that we didn’t even run a place.”
“But we you sit back and look over the field, the run and review it a bit more I was really happy with her effort. Four starts back she was a BenchMark 80 horse and now she is competing in Group 1 races.”
Pfieffer thinks that drawing too close to the rails in the Oakleigh Plate could have attributed to her being too close to a solid speed which allowed the backmarkers Shamal Wind, Under The Louvre and Fast ‘N’ Rocking to storm home to fill the placings.
“I think overlooking her run and the way the race was run I think when we started off with barrier four it was a good barrier to get,” Pfieffer said.
“I think we were a victim of having too good a barrier. We were a bit too close to them with that hot tempo where the horses that finished in the top few placings were all sort of drawn that little bit wider and were forced to go back and it was obvious what suited them in the long run.”
Pfieffer will wait and see what happens in the Galaxy before mapping out the rest of her Autumn Carnival campaign with the options being the Group 2 $300,000 Drummond Golf Sapphire Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on April 11 or a trip to South Australia for the Group 1 $400,000 William Hill Classic (Registered as Robert Sangster Stakes) (1200m) at Morphettville on May 2.
“We will just take one run at a time,” Pfieffer said.
“I am hoping to gain a Group 1 win, but as black type as I can get. This will only be her third run this preparation. I might look to the Sapphire in a few weeks time or she might have even earned herself a trip to Adelaide for the Sangster.”
Atmospherical is not the roughest in the market order for the Galaxy and is listed a $12 chance with Ladbrokes.com.au.
In a fairly open betting race the Team Hawkes trained Deep Field heads the market at $4.60 just ahead of Rubick at $6, Miracles Of Life at $6.50, Kuro at $7, Sweet Idea at $8.50 and Knoydart at $9.50.
