Miss Gunpowder has been included in the 2015 Quezette Stakes field and the Group 3 event at Caulfield on Saturday is set to dictate what path the talented filly follows for the rest of the 2015 Spring Racing Carnival.
Miss Gunpowder has the chance to defend her unbeaten record in the 2015 Quezette Stakes at Caulfield this weekend. Photo by: Jenny Barnes
Miss Gunpowder made her racing debut with a very easy win in the Darley Handicap (1050m) at Morphettville on March 14 and she earnt himself a trip to Melbourne for the Quezette Stakes when she took out the Irish Race Day Handicap (1100m) at Morphettville on July 25.
Stokes told Racing Ahead this morning that Miss Gunpowder had trained on strongly coming out of her first-up and he is confident that the Pendragon filly will prove more than competitive in the 2015 Quezette Stakes this weekend.
“She is a nice filly and it was a nice win last start,” Stokes said.
“She got held-up and really had to sprint off the mark when other horses had their momentum going.
“This is the third time that she travelled and this is her hardest assignment to date, but she deserves a crack and I am sure that she will give a good account of herself.
“She has come through well and her work on Tuesday was really pleasing.
“She worked against older horses and she was able to put them away and that gives me the confidence going forward that she has trained on, which she had to.
“She will run well.”
The breeding of Miss Gunpowder suggests that she will have no problems running out a strong mile and Stokes had identified the Group 1 Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield on October 10 as a potential target for the daughter of Pendragon if she runs well in the Quezette Stakes.
Miss Gunpowder could have her next race start at Moonee Valley on September 5 or potentially head back to Adelaide before returning to Melbourne for the Group 2 Thousand Guineas Prelude (1400m) at Caulfield on September 26.
“She relaxes nice and I would like to think that she will at least get out to a mile,” Stokes said.
“We will see where her level lies on Saturday and then she can go to a Guineas Prelude or something.
“It will just be a matter of how she travels over there, it is her first time away from home and if she doesn’t settle in that great I would bring her home and just go to the Guineas Prelude with maybe a jump out here, but we will just see where she is on Saturday.”
Miss Gunpowder is currently available at 2015 Quezette Stakes odds of $7 and she is on the third line of betting behind Petits Filous ($2) and Jalan Jalan ($5.50) with Ladbrokes.
