Co-trainer Michael Freedman will continue to monitor track conditions but he is optimistic Golden Slipper winner Stay Inside will kick off his preparation at Kembla Grange.
The surface was rated a heavy 9 on Thursday after rain earlier in the week and Freedman is keen to see it improve into the slow range for Stay Inside’s first-up appearance in the Group 3 San Domenico Stakes (1100m).
“We’re intending to kick him off there on Saturday, but we just need to keep an eye on things over the next two or three days and see what pans out with the track,” Freedman said.
“He’s hopefully got a decent program ahead of him in the spring and you’d just be a little apprehensive about kicking off on a very wet track that might take a bit out of him.
“If he didn’t (run), we’d probably trial at Randwick next Thursday and then look at going first-up into The Run To The Rose the following Saturday. That would be the back-up plan.”
Stay Inside was Sydney’s dominant two-year-old in the autumn and Saturday’s race will be his first appearance since his Slipper triumph in March.
He has shaped well in two barrier trials, the latest when given a quiet hitout behind Everest contender Lost And Running at Randwick last week.
Freedman has dealt with his share of top colts during his extensive career and says Stay Inside’s temperament is one of his biggest assets.
“They’ve all had their various traits and idiosyncrasies and he’s his own individual,” Freedman said.
“In the past, we’ve had colts that have been a lot more aggressive in nature than him but he’s pretty much his own character.
“He’s still a lovely, quiet colt which makes my job a lot easier.”
Stay Inside’s Slipper-winning jockey Tommy Berry will partner him on Saturday but the stable will need to find a new rider for his next start with Berry due to begin a lengthy careless riding ban on Sunday that will sidelined him until September 30.
Nine runners will tackle the San Domenico including Champagne Stakes winner Captivant, New Zealander Sword Of State and Godolphin’s Paulele, who already has a run on the board having scored an emphatic first-up win in the Rosebud.
