Trainer Gerald Ryan is confident that talented mare Angel Of Mercy can finish in the top four in the 2014 Doomben Cup in Brisbane on Saturday.
Angel Of Mercy is expected to be retired after running in the 2014 Doomben Cup this weekend. Photo by: Daniel Costello
The Doomben Cup was always on the agenda for Angel Of Mercy during her 2014 Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival campaign, but she was no certainty to contest the Group 1 event after Ryan missed the first acceptances for the race last Wednesday.
Ryan made the decision to pay the late acceptance fee to get Angel Of Mercy into the Doomben Cup field after she worked strongly on Tuesday morning and the veteran trainer told Racing Ahead that he believes the five-year-old is capable of finishing in the top four this weekend.
“She is going to the broodmare sales at the end of the month and I missed the acceptances for the race a week ago, but we had the chance to pay a late acceptance fee into it and we waited until she worked on Tuesday morning,” Ryan said.
“She worked very, very well on Tuesday morning and the track was drying out, so we thought that we would have a crack.
“She worked solid over five furlongs with Dothraki and Dothraki is a very good worker.
“Moriarty was working in front of her, some eight or ten lengths in front of her, and she just wanted to chase Moriarty and she ran the last 400 in 23 and a half and Dothraki was two lengths behind her and couldn’t pick her up.
“Any horse that can do that to Dothraki is working really well.
“It is the soundest she has ever been, she has always had little problems with her feet, and she was impressive at Eagle Farm and she ran home in impressive sectionals.
“She proved once and for all that she can’t handle wet tracks at the Gold Coast (in the Hollindale Stakes).
“Providing it stays dry I reckon that she will run top four.”
There is not expected to be a great deal of speed in the 2014 Doomben Cup field, with Fat Al and Leebaz the likely leaders, and jockey Damien Browne has the opportunity to take up a forward position on Angel Of Mercy from barrier four, but Ryan said that he will be instructing the veteran Queensland hoop to settle the daughter of Hussonet at the tail of the field.
“If you ride her handy, you waste your time,” Ryan said.
“She has to be ridden quiet, I don’t care if she is last or second last, you give her a chance to hit the line.
“If you look back at all her form, her best runs have been when she has been way back in the field.
“If she is ridden up on the speed she has no hope.”
Streama ($4.20) and Leebaz ($4.60) are currently battling for favouritism in 2014 Doomben Cup betting markets, while Angel Of Mercy is available at the generous Doomben Cup odds of $21.
