The lure of bigger prizemoney prompted trainer Luke Griffith to chose a wet Warwick Farm over Canterbury for in-form country mare Sugera this weekend.
The winner of her past three starts, Sugera was entered for a $27,000 race at Canterbury on Friday night as well as Saturday’s $70,000 Schweppes Handicap (1200m) against a stronger field.
“We thought we’d go for the race at Warwick Farm with a bit better prizemoney and the field there might just drop away a bit as well,” Griffith said.
“There is already two scratchings and we also thought the 1200 metres at Warwick Farm with a bit longer straight would suit her better than the tight-turning Canterbury over 1100.
“I just hope they don’t call them off.”
A lightly-raced five-year-old mare, Sugera has won eight of her 20 starts mostly on country tracks.
A last start midweek victory at Wyong’s Australian Turf Club fixture on January 18 was the mare’s first metropolitan success and her second win from as many starts this preparation.
“She has come back really well this time in,” Griffith said.
“She is probably better on a dead or slow track but she’ll get through the heavy even though she is not a mudlark.
“She drops a bit in weight (to 55.5kg) after carrying 59 kilos last start and she’s at her third run of the preparation so she’s probably at her peak at the moment.”
Hugh Bowman rode Sugera at Wyong but with the premiership leader committed to the Chris Waller-trained First Look, Griffith has called on Brenton Avdulla.
“She is hard to place in the bush now because her benchmark is high and with the better Sydney class horses still a couple of weeks away we’ll have a go at this race and see how she goes,” the Scone-based trainer said.
“While she’s in form we might as well throw her in the deep end in the small field and if she doesn’t measure up then we can always go back to midweek events.”
First Look, who finished second to Alberton Park first-up on January 21, is the TAB Sportsbet favourite at $2.90 ahead of the resuming Brightest from the Guy Walter stable at $4.
Sugera is on the fourth line of betting at $6 in a field of seven following the scratchings of dual acceptor Detours and the John O’Shea-trained Vantage Point.
Warwick Farm was rated in the heavy range on Friday following 26mm of overnight rain and 52.5mm for the week.
AAP TURF
