Mudgee trainer Gayna Williams believes a race at Canterbury on Wednesday, September 11 will provide an excellent opportunity for her horse, El Mo to perform well and win a start in The Kosciuszko.
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Williams was forced to abort the spring campaign of I Am A Cool Kid, which was also being aimed at The Kosciuszko - a $1.3 million race for country-trained horses over 1200m at Randwick on October 19.
But El Mo remains very much in the frame for that race and with the slot-holders for the event to be drawn on Tuesday, the timing of the Canterbury race one day later could prove critical.
"Plenty of people are exposing their horses in a race around this time in the hope of getting a slot," Williams said.
He's a horse that's got a fair bit of nervous energy and he works himself up pretty well, so I didn't think that was necessary at this stage. He's done plenty of work in preparation.
- Gayna Williams
"If your horse can perform well it's a good time to do that, definitely.
"El Mo will run in a Benchmark 74 Handicap over 1100m at Canterbury. Sam Clipperton is booked to ride him. The horse has been going well in his work... we're happy with where he's at."
I Am A Cool Kid, with four wins and three seconds from his seven career starts, was shaping up as one of the more likely contenders, but a slight injury set his preparation back far enough for Williams to abandon The Kosciuszko as a target.
"He's just got a bruised foot," she said.
"It's probably only a one out of five in terms of soreness, but it's enough to hold him up a bit too long. He was going to be running out of time, so we've pulled the pin on that and put him out.
But we've still got El Mo, so we're still in with a chance.
El Mo, a four-year-old gelding, has raced 11 times for four wins and five placings.
In his two most recent starts he recorded narrow seconds at Warwick Farm in May.
"I was pleased with him last prep," Williams said.
"He's a little bit more settled this prep and if he got to a race like The Kosciuszko still fresh I think the 1200m at Randwick would be good for him.
...there's definitely a chance for a horse like El Mo to get a start.
"We'll see what he does at Canterbury and go from there. If he did get picked for a slot then I'd discuss with his owner, June Baker, whether he needed another run before the big race.
"The first three in the betting for The Kosciuszko are fairly obvious, but after that it's a wide-open race and the slot-holders can pick whichever horse they want, so there's definitely a chance for a horse like El Mo to get a start."
- Greg Prichard writes for Racing NSW
