Peter and Belinda Blanch have their eyes on next month’s W H Wylie Handicap (1100m) with progressive mare Lingani.
The locally-bred four-year-old returns to the races on Saturday following her brilliant Lightning Stakes win at Morphettville last month where she upstaged Blue Diamond placegetter Kuroyanagi and Aviatress to record her fourth win from just eight starts.
“She had eight days in the paddock after the Lightning,’’ Peter Blanch said.
“She needed a freshen but did really well in that short space of time, so well, I felt we needed to give her this run heading towards the Wylie,’’ he said.
Blanch said the Wylie, under handicap conditions, would provide the perfect stepping stone for a potential Melbourne Spring Carnival tilt.
“The Wylie is the target and if she runs well again we can look towards Melbourne,’’ Blanch added.
“She’s ticked off black type box now, she’s going to have to keep raising the bar,’’ he said.
Lingani drops back from the 1050m on the main track to the 1000m around the Parks and will again battle with the Richard and Chantelle Jolly-trained Aviatress who gets a significant pull in weights on Saturday.
The pair both carried 57kg in the Lightning, Aviatress dropping to 54.5kg on Saturday with Lingani carrying 58kg.
“Aviatress meets her better at the weights and might have the better gate (barrier three),’’ Blanch said, with Lingani drawn in five.
“But that can change with a bit of wet weather around, it might work out better to be drawn outside her,’’ he said.
