Tony Gollan admits Cariad is still a work in progress and he will experiment with bar shoes for her clash with Zero Rock at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Cariad made her debut for the Toowoomba trainer with a disappointing 13th to Ortensia in the listed Mumm Stakes (1100m) at Flemington on November 3.
Gollan wasn’t surprised with the Melbourne performance from Cariad who was previously trained in Brisbane by Steele Ryan.
“She had trouble settling in when she was in Melbourne so I brought her straight home after the Flemington run,” Gollan said.
“The same thing happened to Falvelina who also didn’t settle into her new surroundings down there.
“I half expected a bad run from Cariad and we tried everything to make her time at Flemington more enjoyable but nothing worked.”
However, Gollan is hoping a similar fate awaits Cariad in the Listed Travel Associates Classic (1200m) as it did for her stablemate Listen Son.
Gollan still has no answer why Listen Son failed when last to Queenslander Woorim in the Group Three TAB.com.au Stakes (1400m) at Flemington on October 29.
The five-year-old then returned home to stake his Summer Series campaign with a brilliant all-the-way win in last week’s Listed Keith Noud Quality at Eagle Farm.
Gollan is hoping bar shoes will relieve some of the pressure from Cariad’s troubled feet.
“I’m friends with Steele Ryan and he’s always had a big wrap on this mare,” Gollan said.
“She’s had a few feet issues which is one reason she’ll be wearing bar shoes.
“She’s a very good mare but she can mix her form. She won a Listed race for Steele in January then ran a shocker at her next start.”
Cariad is having only her second start since failing in the Group Three Healy Stakes at Eagle Farm in June.
Trainer Liam Birchley has placed Paul Hammersley on stand-by to ride Liesele in the race if Larry Cassidy is unable to ride at Eagle Farm.
Cassidy escaped with rib cartilage bruising following a four-horse fall at Doomben on Wednesday which left apprentice Priscilla Schmidt hospitalised with a broken leg and punctured lung.
Birchley will be looking for his first feature success with Liesele since his decision to part company from Aquanita Racing.
The Eagle Farm trainer felt the time was right for him to leave the management group with his wife Rebecca taking over the stable’s financial operation.
Aquanita Racing is keen to replace Birchley in a bid to maintain its presence in Queensland.
Tony Vasil and Robert Smerdon represent Aquanita Racing in Victoria while Simon Miller is based in Perth.
Heath Conners left the group last year to establish his new stable at Geelong.
AAP TURF
