Trainer Tom Cowan isn’t backing away from the task confronting lightly raced filly Big Delight ahead of her metropolitan debut at Sandown.
The daughter of Lago Delight is coming off successive country wins at Stony Creek and Moe and tackles older mares in the Schweppes Handicap on Wednesday.
Big Delight is rising from benchmark 58 races to benchmark 78 company but it will provide Cowan with a better idea of her ability.
“We’re under no illusions so we’ll have a look at her and see where she is in the pecking order,” Cowan said.
“It’s a good track to run her on, the distance won’t be any trouble as she ran the trip out really well at Moe and she drops to 52 kilos which will make her more competitive against the older mares.”
Cowan, a former full-time trainer who now manages a pet-food and livestock feed business, potters around with a team of four horses and said Big Delight would only improve with maturity.
He said options for staying three-year-old fillies were limited unless he was prepared to travel interstate and Big Delight was not mature enough to go to Adelaide for a better-class fillies race.
But the trainer is reluctant to send Big Delight to the paddock because her form is too good.
“She’s a big filly now but in six or 12 months time she will be even bigger and stronger and hopefully she’ll have a lot more ability too,” Cowan said.
“At this stage she’s doing everything right and while she’s winning there’s no point putting her in the paddock because sometimes they don’t come back up again.
“It’s a good chance for us to have a look at her against stronger company.”
Jake Bayliss, who had his claim reduced to 2kg in the metropolitan area following his win aboard Loyalty Man at Sandown last week, takes the ride on Wednesday and he replaces senior rider Patrick Keane.
