Missing a Golden Slipper start could prove a blessing in disguise for Screen Icon as she prepares to chase a tidy consolation prize in the $1 million Percy Sykes Stakes at Randwick.
The filly found herself outside the final field for last month’s two-year-old showpiece after trainer John Thompson decided against running her seven days out just to cement her spot, preferring instead to let fate take its course.
“I didn’t run her again before the Slipper, because if I’d run her again, I wouldn’t have backed up in the Slipper. It would have been too much,” Thompson said.
“So I took a punt to see if she got a run, but the three late entries buggered me, and she was an emergency.
“Hopefully it’s a blessing, and she is right for the Percy Sykes.”
Screen Icon has been plagued by wide draws in all three starts but has still managed a brace of eye-catching placings in the Gimcrack Stakes (1000m) last spring and Sweet Embrace Stakes (1200m) at her most recent outing on February 28.
Thompson has kept her up to the mark with a recent barrier trial and while she didn’t enjoy the testing conditions there, she will return to firmer conditions at Randwick.
“She didn’t like the really heavy track that she trialled on, but back on top of the ground, she’ll be right,” he said.
“She has got her foot on the till and the form around her is good, especially because she has been running well from bad draws.”
Thompson will also have La Morra backing up in the Australian Oaks (2400m) after finishing fourth in the Adrian Knox Stakes (2000m) last weekend, while Flying Embers tackles the Provincial-Midway Championships Final (1400m).
Runner-up in the qualifying heat at Wyong, Flying Embers is proven over the course and distance, and Thompson says she will appreciate getting back to a more expansive track.
“She’s a big girl, so Wyong didn’t suit, but back to Randwick she will run well,” he said.
“She’s a swimmer, but it doesn’t matter. She goes well on dry too.”
Chad Scofield will partner Flying Embers and Screen Icon, while Regan Bayliss has the mount on La Morra.
