Palacio De Cristal is looking for a win in the Winter Stakes before retirement

Palacio De Cristal will attempt to take out one more stakes win in the winter carnival before she begins her life as a broodmare.

The five-year-old mare will most likely have her final run in the Group 1 Winter Stakes at Eagle Farm Racecourse on June 25.

Trainer Grahame Begg feels that his mare is up to the task of producing one last hurrah.

“Her work this morning was outstanding,” Begg said.

“She has been going terrific this whole preparation but we just haven’t been able to get her on the right surface.”

The Encosta De Lago mare has had a hard time finding a race this autumn, with the dry track racer having to deal with an unseasonably rainy autumn carnival in Sydney.

Palacio De Cristal will now race in Scone this Saturday to prepare for her Brisbane campaign.

“She had a nice trial at Randwick last Friday behind Hay List to suit her up for this Saturday’s assignment,” Begg said.

“We are going to get a firm surface at Scone.

“I wish the race was 1500 metres, just that fraction longer, but you can’t have everything.

“A dry track and a big track, that’s exactly what she wants.”

The mare will go into the Listed Dark Jewel on Saturday after a break of six weeks since her last start due to the wet weather.

“It was not what we really originally planned on doing but the way her autumn campaign has panned out we had little other option,” Begg said.

While Palacio De Cristal’s main aim will be the Winter Stakes, she has also been nominated for the $1 million Stradbroke Handicap.

“She is nominated for the Stradbroke and the Winter Stakes and we’ll keep our options open as to whether we run her in the Stradbroke,” Begg said.

“But we’ll take her up for the Winter Stakes.”