Promising sprinter Malavio will be at the forefront of one of trainer Steve Englebrecht’s busiest metropolitan racedays on Saturday.
Malavio and his little sister She’s A Girl will be among four runners Englebrecht will saddle up at Rosehill.
“It’s been quite a while since I’ve had four runners on a Saturday in town,” Englebrecht said.
The Warwick Farm trainer will also run last-start Kembla Grange winner Cultural Dancer and maiden stayer Retort Courteous.
But it will be first-up Hawkesbury winner Malavio who will carry the bulk of the stable’s expectations.
“He’s trained very, very well since Hawkesbury and given some even sort of luck I would expect him to go close,” Englebrecht said.
Malavio found his way to Englebrecht after winning four races on out-of-town tracks.
“I trained his mum Win Here Win There and I had kept an eye on him,” Englebrecht said.
“The plan was always for the horse to come to the city but it had been a few years since I trained a horse for Malavio’s owner.
“Thankfully he remembered my (telephone) number.”
Englebrecht hopes a Rosehill win can confirm bigger plans for the three-year-old.
“Depending on how he goes on Saturday there’s a couple of options I’ve got picked out for him over the winter,” he said.
Kathy O’Hara, who rode Malavio for the first time in a race when he beat older horses at Hawkesbury, retains the mount in a 1200m benchmark race for three-year-olds at Rosehill.
While Malavio is by 2011-2012 headline sire Snitzel, She’s A Girl is by the lesser known Bold Expectation, an unraced son of Danehill who stood at a modest $2200 during last year’s breeding season.
“She’s a bit different to Malavio,” Englebrecht said.
“Probably once she gets up to a mile I think you will see a really nice horse.
“It’s her first start for me but she’s trialled quite nicely both times.”
She’s A Girl and Cultural Dancer will clash in the 2YO Plate (1200m).
“Cultural Girl trialled well and then just needed a bit of race practice to get back in the swing of things before winning at Kembla,” Englebrecht said.
Englebrecht thinks Retort Courteous is a stayer in the making after rating the three-year-old unlucky at Hawkesbury last week.
