Premiership winning trainer Peter Moody has given the green light for Bring Me The Maid to take her place in the Group 1 $500,000 Schweppes Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield on Saturday following a pleasing gallop this morning.
Bring Me The Maid will take her place in the Thousand Guineas at Caulfield. Photo by Steve Hart.
Bring Me The Maid worked in blinkers at Caulfield alongside of Queensland filly Aimee over 1200m, running the last 400m in 24.05secs.
Moody was still deciding if he would commit to the blinkers for raceday, but was strongly considering the addition of the extra gear to spark Bring Me The Maid up after running a lacklustre seventh to Afleet Esprit in the Group 2 $200,000 Schweppes Thousand Guineas Prelude (1400m) at Caulfield on September 28.
“I’m probably grasping at straws a little bit with the blinkers, I’m not convinced she needs them, but we’ll probably go down that path the way she worked,” Moody told Racing.com.
“I’m prepared to forgive her for one (poor run), I can understand maybe the punters not wanting to, but I’m very pleased with her condition.”
Bring Me The Maid will be coming up against the Lindsay Park filly Afleet Esprit again on Saturday after both fillies were among the final eleven acceptors for the Thousand Guineas.
The first seven fillies across the line in the Thousand Guineas Prelude, Afleet Esprit, Amicus, Go Indy Go, Traveston Girl, Sabatini, Pickin’ Time and Bring Me The Maid, will line up again on Saturday, with Novel Dancer and Aimee not in the final Thousand Guineas field.
The other fillies in the field are late entry Lumosty from the Robert Smerdon stable, Tahni Dancer, High Above and Go Jenno.
Afleet Esprit continued the great run for co-trainers David Hayes and Tom Dabernig when she completed a hat trick of wins in the Thousand Guineas Prelude.
Damien Oliver has been aboard Afleet Esprit at her last three starts and is most impressed with the Bel Esprit filly.
“She is a little ripper,” Oliver said.
“She puts herself in a good position, she has great acceleration when you want it and they keep underestimating her, but she keeps on winning.”
Like most of the fillies Afleet Esprit will be stepping up to the 1600m for the first time, but Hayes is confident she will handle the extra distance.
“She is a filly that I think will run a really good mile,” Hayes said.
“I know she is by Bel Esprit and sometimes they are more noted for sprinting, but she has such a relaxed demeanor and she can run such fast sectionals.”
Go Indy Go is one filly that is proven over the mile after winning the Group 1 $400,000 Moet & Chandon Champagne Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on April 26.
The Bernardini filly has had two runs back form a spell and showed marked improvement last start when third to Afleet Esprit in the Thousand Guineas Prelude.
The connections of Lumosty were happy to pay the late entry fee of $27,500 on Monday after the Fastnet Rock filly won a Sale 1423m maiden by nine lengths on October 1.
Go Indy Go heads the market order for the Thousand Guineas with Ladbrokes.com.au at $4 ahead of Lumosty at $5 with Bring Me The Maid and Afleet Esprit sharing the next line of betting at $5.50.
Amicus is next in the betting at $8.50 ahead of Traveston Girl and Pickin’ Time at $13, Tahni Dancer at $15, Sabatini at $17, High Above at $34 and Go Jenno at $51.
