Trainer Paul Messara will wait until Friday to make a final decision if top weight Mic Mac takes his place in the Listed $100,000 Inghams Love’em Winter Stakes (1400m) at Rosehill on Saturday.
Trainer Paul Messara will make a decision on Friday if Mic Mac runs in the Winter Stakes at Rosehill. Photo by Steve Hart.
Messara was unhappy with 60.5 kgs Mic Mac received and his first thoughts were not to run, but he will now study the field a bit more closely and watch the weather as well.
“Realistically it’s just too much weight,” Messara said.
“He’ll get beaten two lengths and they’ll say he had the right weight, but I think it’s just too much,”
“I want to have a closer look at the field and see how the track comes up.
“The weather forecast here for Friday is not good. If it comes up heavy on Friday we’ll make the call then and take him out.”
Rosehill is currently rated a slow 7 and and even though Mic Mac drew the inside gate, his record in the wet is not good with only one win from three goes on a slow track and any more rain about will prompt Messara to scratch and wait for the Group 3 $125,000 McGrath Missile Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on August 10.
“We might wait a couple of weeks for the Missile Stakes at weight-for-age,” Messara said.
“I don’t want to run him on a heavy track with 60.5kgs, that can’t do the horse any good and he probably couldn’t win.”
Mic Mac scored his first win in four years when too strong for Under The Sun in the Listed $100,000 Civic Stakes (1350m) at Rosehill last start.
The Statue Of Liberty gelding has suffered a host of injuries since winning the Group 2 $200,000 Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield in August 2009, including a hoof injury, a nasty eye injury in a paddock accident and fractured a cannon bone during the 2012 Group 1 $350,000 Galaxy (1100m) at Randwick.
Leading trainer Chris Waller will still have two runners in the Winter Stakes after not accepting with French import Bayrir who has to wait to make his Australian debut.
Six year old Wazn will be having his first run for over twelve months while Coup Ay Tee has been mixing his form and has to bounce back from a well beaten tenth at Rosehill last start on a heavy track.
Waller already has his third Sydney trainer’s premiership wrapped up with 161.5 wins to date but has a good chance to extend his commanding lead over Gai Waterhouse with nine runners engaged at Rosehill.
