Trainer Gerald Ryan believes that talented mare Angel Of Mercy will need a dry Eagle Farm track on Saturday, if she is going to be a winning chance in the 2014 Tattersall’s Tiara.
Angel Of Mercy made up ground late to score an impressive win in the 2014 Lord Mayor's Cup. Photo by: Daniel Costello
There are currently showers predicted in Brisbane on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and in recent years the Eagle Farm track has been quick to fall apart when it has been hit by heavy rain.
Angel Of Mercy has been placed just once in five career starts on rain affected surfaces, in the Group 2 Emancipation Stakes (1500m) earlier this year, and Ryan is worried about the prospect on a wet track this weekend.
“She needs nothing worse than a dead track,” Ryan told TVN.
“She does prefer it dry; when you look at her form on dry surfaces it is terrific and all her wins have been on dry.”
Angel Of Mercy started her 2014 Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival campaign with a win in the Listed Winning Edge Members’ Quality (1600m) at Eagle Farm on April 19 and was outclassed at weight-for-age level in both the Group 2 Hollindale Stakes (1800m) at the Gold Coast on May 3 and the Group 1 Doomben Cup (2000m) on May 17 before returning to winning form with an impressive performance in the Group 3 Lord Mayor’s Cup (1615m) at Doomben on May 24.
Ryan said that he has been happy with the form of Angel Of Mercy and was impressed with her trackwork performance this morning, but admits that she will need to be at her best against what is set to be a very strong Tattersall’s Tiara field.
“Timmy (Bell) is riding her and he rode her work this morning and she worked strong at the Gold Coast over 600m,” Ryan said.
“He reckons she felt better to him this morning than what she did going in to her last two starts.
“This is about the fourth time he has ridden her on the track and he feels she is going better than anytime before.
“It is a good race, so she is going to need to be going good to be a hope.”
Angel Of Mercy will be having her first start for new owner Katsumi Yoshida in the Tattersall’s Tiara, who purchased her for $575,000 at the Gold Coast Magic Millions Broodmare Sale, and Ryan said that he is unsure whether the five-year-old will have another race start before retired to serve as a broodmare
