Talented mare Booklet will strip fitter for her stunning first-up Moonee Valley victory when she returns to stakes class at Caulfield.
Trainers Mathew Ellerton and Simon Zahra described her as “woolly and wintery” when he she stormed home from a seemingly hopeless position to land a mares handicap last month but have tightened the screws on her for Saturday’s Group Three assignment.
Zahra said a genuine tempo and some cushioning on the track was all that was needed for Booklet to handle the class rise in the second heat of the Sportingbet Sprint Series (1200m).
Booklet has been been tried up to 2000 metres but the stable blamed the firmer ground in the autumn for her patchy form which included a Listed win in the Listed Adelaide Guineas (1600m) on March 26 before a failure in Sydney.
Zahra said the four-year-old daughter of Tale Of The Cat may be kept to sprints.
A winner of three of her 12 starts, Booklet last spring was twice stakes-placed over 1400 metres at Listed level at Flemington and Sandown.
“She is in good order and going well,” Zahra said.
“She is a mare who is better than above average and we gave her a jump-out the other day at Flemington just to keep her ticking over.”
“She has drawn wide Saturday which could be a good thing or a bad thing but hopefully they go hard, she can get some cover, and hit the line like she did last start.”
Dwayne Dunn won on Booklet at Moonee Valley and in the Adelaide Guineas and will partner her again on Saturday.
She is solid at $17 with TAB Sportsbet while Sister Madly heads the chart at $4.40.
Impressive last-start Group Three Bobbie Lewis Quality winner Lone Rock is $6 while Miss Octopussy ($7) is resuming.
Trainer Tom Hughes said Miss Octopussy, who was placed behind Response and Beaded in the Group One Sportingbet Classic (1200m) in Adelaide in March, had come up well.
“She’s had two jump-outs and hasn’t done much wrong,” Hughes said.
“I am pretty happy with the way she is going.”
AAP TURF