Blue Diamond Stakes winner Samaready is on target to return to the racetrack in the Group 1 $500,000 Black Caviar Lightning (1000m) at Flemington on February 15 after an impressive win in a Caulfield jump out yesterday.
Samaready on target to resume in the Black Caviar Lightning at Flemington. Photo by Race Horse Photos Australia.
Samaready led the small field up in the 650m jump out and scored a comfortable win indicating that that she will be ready to tackle the 1000m dash down the Flemington straight in two and a half weeks.
Caulfield trainer Mick Price sent Samaready to the spelling paddock following a disappointing eighth as a short priced favourite in the Group 1 $1m Sportingbet Manikato Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on October 25.
A post-race endoscopy revealed a degree of internal exercise induced pulmonary haemorrhage which forced Samaready to miss the rest of the 2013 Melbourne Spring Carnival.
Price was happy with the way the More Than Ready mare spelled and has picked out an Autumn Carnival program that will see her take on the best sprinters in the country.
“We’re thinking we’ll go to the Lightning with her and then the Newmarket and then five weeks after the Newmarket into the T J Smith in Sydney,” Price said.
“She’s a proven weight-for-age mare so it looks like a suitable first up race for her.”
The weight for age Black Caviar Lightning will have a new winner for the time in four years with the champion mare Black Caviar dominating the race for last three runnings.
Price will then follow up with a start in the Group 1 $1m Lexus Newmarket Handicap (1200m) at Flemington on March 8 and then turn his attention to Sydney with Samaready to run in the Group 1 WFA $2.5m Darley T J Smith Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on April 12.
The lightly raced mare was one of the top two year olds of her juvenile season and after winning the 2012 Group 1 $1m Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield finished third as favourite to Pierro in the Group 1 $3.5m Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill.
Following a fourth in the Listed $120,000 Quezette Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield in August 2012, Samaready spent twelve months on the sidelines because of injury before resuming with a win in the Group 3 $135,000 The Heath (1100m) at Caulfield on August 31.
But it didn’t take long for the top line sprinter to chalk up her second Group 1 victory with a runaway win in the $450,000 Programmed Moir Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on September 27.
Samaready shares the third line of betting at $8 with Golden Slipper winner Overreach in the T J Smith Stakes with the Chris Waller trained Zoustar the favourite at $3 ahead of three time Group 1 winner Buffering at $5.
While in the Newmarket Handicap Samaready was been marked as a $12 chance behind Zoustar at $3.70 and last year’s winner Shamexpress at $5.50.
