Morphettville-based trainer Chris Bieg is thankful Teardrop Rotation is back at the races, let alone in winning form.
Teardrop Rotation will look to make it two wins on the trot when she runs in the Kilawi Handicap (1400m) at Murray Bridge on Saturday.
The four-year-old registered a first-up win at Morphettville Parks earlier this month, her first run since doing some severe damage in a track mishap.
That came after Teardrop Rotation had won the Shillabeer Plate at Oakbank in April, first-up off a break, as Bieg eyed off the Listed Adelaide Guineas at Morphettville in May.
“She won earlier in the year, so we gave her a break, and we came back with that Oakbank race in mind, being a restricted three-year-old race,” Bieg said.
“We took her there and she beat a pretty handy horse in Party Crusher that day and we had her going to the Adelaide Guineas the following fortnight.
“But she got a bit of a fright and dropped the rider at trackwork on the Friday morning and did herself a bit of mischief and damage that required surgery.
“That’s why she had a lengthy lay-off and only a couple of jump-outs, so to see her do that first-up was very impressive.”
Bieg wants to get Teardrop Rotation through Saturday’s outing then potentially give the mare one more start before another freshen with the view of tackling the Adelaide Carnival in April-May.
The trainer said he would consider a trip across the border to Victoria as he believes the travel would help Teardrop Rotation mentally.
“The Adelaide Carnival, it’s not really designed for these types of mares, but the one that jumps off the page to me is the Group 2 Queen Of The South in late April,” Bieg said.
“That is where we’ll have her ready to go after a bit of a freshen up.
“My ideal plan would be, she races this Saturday, goes well, runs top three, and then give her a trip over the border, give her that exposure, toughen her up and give her some travel.
“She’s lightly raced and still quite a handful, to be honest. She’s burning unnecessary energy, so it would be good to give her a trip away and help her mature and then it would be good to give her a freshen up through January and have her ready for the Queen Of The South.”
Bieg said the mare has improved off her first-up victory, as he expected, having had only two jump-outs leading into her return.
“All the data and trackers that we use in trackwork suggest her gallop on Tuesday was better than leading into her first-up run,” Bieg said.
“That gives me a bit of confidence she has taken some improvement out of it, fitness wise.”
