Darley Has The Mental Advantage In Guineas

UPDATE: Mental has been scratched from the 2011 Sandown Guineas with an elevated temperature.

Kerrin McEvoy might have the pick of the rides in the 2011 Sandown Guineas aboard favourite Galah but he’s nervous of being upstaged by his Darley stablemate.

Mental ran on well to finish fourth at Flemington last start but ran the quickest last 200m and looks like he’ll relish the step up to 1600m.

It’s a fantastic position the Snowden camp finds themselves in when they not only produce the favourite in the race but also one of the biggest dangers.

McEvoy knows he’ll need to get more out of Galah than what he showed last start when he only got up in the final stride after being backed into as short as $1.30.

“Obviously we thought he would run a bit better than he did the other day,” he said.

“I expected him to be a bit sharper than that. Peter (Snowden) hasn’t done much with him since and he worked nice the other morning.

“We are going to take the winkers off him. That could have been the issue, he could have been a bit new with the winkers on.” McEvoy said,

As for Mental, McEvoy knows his true ability as he also rode him at his last start and he’s nervous that Mental may hit top form in an event where he isn’t on his back.

“There is not really much between them. Galah obviously has some nice wins under his belt where this horse (Mental) is still improving, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he is my hardest opponent,” he said.

“He can really produce a quick sectional at the end of his races.”

Galah is the favourite for the Sandown Guineas at around the $3.00 mark while Mental is nudging double figures.

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