Co-trainer Will Clarken is unperturbed by the recent trial from exciting filly Kuroyanagi who makes her return to racing in the $120,000 Listed Lightning Stakes (1050m) at Morphettville on Saturday.
Superstar jockey Jamie Kah makes the trip to Adelaide to partner the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes placegetter who is marked a $2.80 favourite ahead of fellow two-year-old Arabian Summer from the Tony and Calvin McEvoy stable.
“The other day she trialled against the older more seasoned horses and she didn’t really blow out,’’ Clarken said on RSN.
“It was on testing ground, I wouldn’t want it like that on Saturday, and if the track is below the heavy range there should be no excuses,’’ he said
The stable has always believed Kuroyanagi would be an even better three-year-old despite mixing it with some of the best two-year-olds in Australia in her first campaign.
“She’s come back bigger and stronger, whether that means she’ll run any faster we don’t know,’’ Clarken said.
“We’re really excited about her, it’s been the plan for a fair while to get Jamie aboard her in the Lightning.
“She’s drawn lovely but it does look a strong edition of the race,’’ he said.
Clarken said despite the strength of the two-year-old form of the race, it looked one of the deepest editions of a race that has been good to him in recent years.
He won the 2021 edition with Beau Rossa, again in 2022 with Extremely Lucky before running second, third and fourth in last year’s race won by La Danseuse Rouge.
“(I’m) slightly nervous because the strength of the race. There is certainly more depth to it than previous years,’’ Clarken said.
“The older horses have been around and had a lot of racing.
“Our other filly in the race (Hajra) is going particularly well, Aviatress looked good in a jump-out other day and is a really smart horse, you could find five or six live chances.
“The race generally is on tired ground.
“Hajra has had the racing, is rock hard fit and most probably would have liked her to have drawn out more, but I was really taken by her win last start, her change of gear was electric and you’d be disappointed if she couldn’t get to Stakes level based on last start.
“Kuroyanagi will be hard to beat but you’d have to say Hajra represents some value,’’ he said.
The final city meeting of the 2023-24 racing season is full of intrigue with Clarken and O’Shea locked in battle with Richard and Chantelle Jolly for the Metropolitan Trainer’s Premiership.
“I didn’t think we’d be able to keep up for as long as we have, it’s going to go down to the wire,’’ Clarken said.
“I always thought the weight of numbers would come into play,’’ he said.
The have a host of leading chances including Sachem early in the day who will be ridden by Jamie Kah, while apprentice Rochelle Milnes will be trying to continue her red hot run in combination with Favourite Child who chases her fifth win in succession.
“He’s been a bit of a money muncher for us,’’ Clarken said of Sachem.
“Jamie will be the trick to getting a spot further (forward), he was good last start and he looks like he’s going to be hard to beat.
“She (Favourite Child) is drawn a little bit awkward.
“Rochelle is riding lovely, she has a real knack on these mares when in form. Facts and figures will say that she’s going to be hard to beat,’’ he said.
The other big watch will be Boognish, resuming since her win in the Group 3 Proud Miss Stakes at Morphettville in May where she lines-up alongside stablemates Extremely Lucky and Second To Nun.
