The quality of opposition in Saturday’s Group Three Missile Stakes certainly doesn’t hold any fears for trainer David Payne with Centennial Park.
The seven-year-old gelding has mixed it with Sydney’s best weight-for-age performers in recent seasons including a first-up second to Rain Affair in February’s Expressway Stakes and a win in the same event a year earlier.
“He’s run well first-up before and I don’t think it’s a great field,” Payne said.
“I think it’s a sub-standard field so he’ll be thereabouts.”
Centennial Park, one of only two weight-for-age winners in the eight-horse Missile field, has the handy first-up record of three wins and two placings from seven attempts.
Payne believes Centennial Park retains his zest for racing but says Saturday’s Warwick Farm race over 1200m will be the telling guide.
“He’s been a very good horse for us,” Payne said.
“And he’s come back in good order.
“He’ll just be going for a couple of the weight-for-age races, just like he usually does.”
Payne will also saddle-up a runner in the day’s other feature, the Listed Rosebud (1200m).
The Rosehill trainer flagged a change in tactics for three-year-old filly Secret Delight who raced on the speed last start when third to exciting filly She’s A Fox over 1100m.
“It was a good run last start but we had to ride her aggressively and we won’t be doing that on Saturday,” Payne said.
“We’ll be speaking to the stewards and we’re going to take a sit.”
Payne believes the filly, a two-time city winner before her last start placing, will be better suited over the 1200m.
While Payne expects Secret Delight to have improved from her last start he said the filly still faced a difficult task against She’s A Fox who defeated her by nearly four lengths.
“But if she can run in the placings then it’s black type for her owners,” Payne said.
The Peter Snowden-trained Pinwheel, a multiple stakeswinning sprinter and weight-for-age Warwick Stakes winner, heads the market for the Missile ahead of stakeswinner Title with Centennial Park on the third line of betting.
