Glen Boss will take the ride on Srikandi in the 2014 Stradbroke Handicap and leading hoop believes that there is plenty to suggest the talented filly can take out the Group 1 event at Eagle Farm on June 7.
Glen Boss steered Srikandi to victory for the third start in a row in the Glenlogan Park Stakes at Doomben on Saturday. Photo by: Daniel Costello
Boss was forced to choose between partnering Srikandi or Rebel Dane in the Stradbroke Handicap, after they both performed well at Doomben on Saturday, but the decision was taken out of his hands when Tommy Berry was booked to ride Rebel Dane in the feature event of the 2014 Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival.
Boss has partnered Srikandi in each of her victories in Queensland this preparation and told Sky Racing HQ this morning that he is more than happy to stick with the Dubawi filly after she carried 57 kilograms against a strong field in the Group 3 Glenlogan Park Stakes (1350m) at Doomben on Saturday.
“Everybody is going to have their opinion, but to mine it is quiet an obvious one,” Boss said.
“She is running time, compared to the weight-for-age horses that are running at the moment, and she carried the same of weight that they did on the weekend.
“Her last 600 was quicken than the actual 10,000.
“Wet or dry and barriers make no difference to her and the way that the track races and how it presents on the day won’t make a difference to her.
“She is going to carry a light weight and there is a lot more that says she can win the race than a few others.”
The three-time Melbourne Cup winning jockey has been the regular rider for Rebel Dane since the start of the 2013 Spring Racing Carnival and steered the son of California Dane to a fourth place finish in the Group 1 Doomben 10,000 (1350m) on Saturday.
Boss admits that he was slightly disappointed with the effort of Rebel Dane on the weekend and believes that he is unsure whether the four-year-old is performing well enough to win the Stradbroke Handicap.
“Things didn’t quite go his way and he has to be ridden a certain way now,” Boss said.
“I thought that he presented to win the race and I just thought that there were horses that were making ground on him that were not horses that could win a Stradbroke
“He is going well enough, but just whether he is going well enough to win a Stradbroke I am not sure.
“Barriers are crucial to that horse and there is a lot that has to go right now for that horse to win a Stradbroke.
“He has to be ridden quiet to give him a chance and Stradbroke’s are a big field and things can go wrong.
“He is a very good horse, but at the end of the day you can’t ride two.”
Boss is chasing his second win in the Stradbroke Handicap with a filly after taking out the 2003 edition of the race with John O’Shea-trained Private Steer.
