Trainer Gai Waterhouse is confident that Cosmic Endeavour is ready to return to winning form in the 2015 Canterbury Stakes at Royal Randwick tomorrow.
Cosmic Endeavour has the chance to record her first race win since she took out the 2014 Tattersalls Tiara. Photo by: Daniel Costello
Cosmic Endeavour missed the 2014 Spring Racing Carnival after she won the Group 1 Tattersall’s Tiara (1400m) at Eagle Farm during the 2014 Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival and she returned to racing with a slightly flat performance in the Group 3 Triscay Stakes (1200m) at Royal Randwick on February 14 before she produced a better effort when she finished a tough second behind Danesiri in the Group 3 Guy Walter Stakes (1400m) at Warwick Farm last weekend.
The Northern Meteor mare backed-up seven days after racing to take out the Group 2 Sapphire Stakes (1200m) at Royal Randwick during the 2014 Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival and Waterhouse told Racing Ahead this morning that the four-year-old is now at peak fitness for the 2015 Canterbury Stakes.
“She is a really top class mare,” Waterhouse said.
“She is like a big colt, she is able to run against the best of the colts, geldings and mares and beat them.
“She is in there with a real live chance.
“I thought that it was an enormous run and it just topped her off beautifully.
“These great big solid horses sometimes take a couple of races to really hit their hobble because they are such gross sort of horses and she is a big gross mare.
“She is ready to rock and roll tomorrow.”
Cosmic Endeavour has shown a great deal of versatility during her racing career to date and that could prove to be an advantage in the Canterbury Stakes, which is packed full of horses that are returning to the races for the first time this preparation and Waterhouse said that she is happy to leave the riding instructions to in-form hoop James McDonald.
Waterhouse is chasing her seventh win in the Canterbury Stakes after previously taking out the event with Sprint By (1996), All Our Mob (1997), Dance Hero (2005), More Joyous (2011 and 2012) and Pierro (2013).
Cosmic Endeavour is currently available at 2015 Canterbury Stakes odds of $3.30, while talented mare Catkins ($2.80) remains favourite from tough sprinter Tiger Tees ($7), Australian Derby winner Criterion ($11), Team Hawkes-trained Leebaz ($11), consistent mare Royal Descent ($12), Epsom Handicap placegetter Hooked ($12) and two-time Doncaster Mile winner Sacred Falls ($13).
