Melbourne filly Shopaholic will go into next week’s Stradbroke Handicap without another run after being scratched from tomorrow’s Group 2 $350,000 Sky Racing Queensland Guineas (1400m) at Eagle Farm.

Shopaholic

Shopaholic will still go to the Stradbroke despite scratching for the Queensland Guineas - photo (c) Steven Dowden

And Torio’s Quest is also an early scratching from the Group 2 $175,000 QTC Cup (1300m) because of the rain affected track but will run in the Group 1 $1m AAMI Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at Eagle Farm.

Trainer Danny O’Brien was not completely happy with Shopaholic saying that the filly had taken a few days to settle in since arriving from Melbourne.

Shopaholic will have no trouble getting into the Stradbroke field and is currently number eighteen in the order of entry and O’Brien is keen to start her.

“I would love to run her in the Stradbroke,” O’Brien said.

“We went close with Absolut Glam a few years back and it’s certainly a race three year old fillies have a reasonable record in,” O’Brien said.

“This year we have got an unbelievable crop of three year old fillies that have been winning everything and this filly has got the right form line,” he said.

“In the Autumn she won three of her four starts and was the only filly to beat Mosheen.”

The Pins filly has had one run back from a spell when she was sent out favourite, finishing fifth to Curtana in the 1200m Straight Six at Flemington on May 19.

Shopaholic is way down the Stradbroke market order at $26 where as Torio’s Quest is more fancied at $13.

Trainer Brett Partelle didn’t want to run Torio’s Quest on a slow or worse track but has no worries of getting a run in the Stradbroke, being number sixteen in the order of entry.

Eagle Farm was rated a slow 7 on Friday afternoon and Brisbane Racing Club course manager Bill Shuck said the forecast isn’t very favourable with the possibility of a further 10mm of rain to fall overnight and into Saturday morning.

“Yesterday was a shocking day,” Shuck said.

“We didn’t get much rain, only recorded 3mm, but it was a bleak old day with no sun or no wind and the water just laid around.”

About The Author

Mark Mazzaglia

Mark is a passionate journalist with a life-time involvement in the racing industry. He spent many years as an analyst and form expert at the Courier Mail and also has hands-on experience working with some of Queensland’s top trainers.