Smart filly Whispering Brook will get a chance to resurrect her career in the Group 2 $500,000 W.A. Guineas (1600m) at Ascot in Perth on Saturday.
Whispering Brook ran second to Merriest, above, in the Atlantic Jewel Stakes at Moonee Valley. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.
Perth trainer Simon Miller will test Whispering Brook on the track on Tuesday morning but is confident the filly will indicate that she is ready for another home town race track appearance following a winless Melbourne Spring Carnival campaign.
‘’I put her in the paddock for a week after she got home and she seems bright and happy, but I’ll give her a good gallop tomorrow and see how she recovers through that,’’ Miller told racing.com.
‘’Any sign she’s had enough. I’ll just bunk her out, but at the moment she looks on track for Saturday.’’
Whispering Brook started her racing days in Perth and was undefeated from five runs when Miller decided to try his luck in the Eastern States with the Hinchinbrook filly.
After winning the Group 3 $200,000 W.A. Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) at Ascot in April 16 as a two year old, Miller decided to test her against the best fillies during the Melbourne Spring Carnival and produced her for a first up second to Merriest in the Listed $120,000 Mitchelton Wines Atlantic Jewel Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on September 3.
At her next start Whispering Brook was beaten two and a quarter lengths when seventh to Legless Veuve in the Group 2 $200,000 Schweppes Thousand Guineas Prelude (1400m) at Caulfield on September 24 but then ran a much improved race for a third behind Global Glamour and I Am A Star in the Group 1 $500,000 Schweppes Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield on October 8.
The filly was then a late scratching at the barrier when she was to line up in the Group 2 $200,000 LUCRF Super Vase (2040m) at Moonee Valley on Cox Plate Day and then had one more Melbourne run for a disappointing thirteenth to I Am A Star in the Group 1 $500,000 Myer Classic (1600m) at Flemington on October 29 before she home to Perth.
“When she raced on Cox Plate day – or didn’t race as it turned out – I had to get her reinstated back at the barriers so I trialled her Tuesday and then she raced on the Saturday and she really lightened off from that,’’ Miller said.
‘’I thought that might be the sign that she’s at the end of her campaign, but I just thought I’d wait and see and I’ve been able to put weight back on her. I’ve now got to see whether she can maintain that weight and gallop to her high standards tomorrow.’’
Miller has confirmed that Whispering Book will be heading to the paddock after the W.A. Guineas for a well-deserved break and he will give her as much time as she needs before heading back to stables for another preparation.
‘’I haven’t got an (autumn) program mapped out because she’s had a lot of things go wrong and so I thought that I would just spell her and then once she looks like a million dollars and had a really good break and really fattened up, then I’ll pick a program,’’ Miller said.
Whispering Book is the winner of five of her nine race starts and has earned just of $700,000 in prizemoney for her connections.
