Ron Quinton is loath to separate his stable stars Dixie Blossoms and Daysee Doom, and has extended that to the bulk of their rivals in the Coolmore Legacy Stakes.
The Randwick trainer believes any of eight contenders have genuine claims to the $1 million Group One 1600m-race for fillies and mares at his home track.
They will be up against many of the same horses they raced against in the Coolmore Classic, won by Daysee Doom, and the Emancipation Stakes.
“There’s very little between probably seven or eight mares running around. The competition is pretty fierce,” Quinton said.
Prompt Response won the Group Two Emancipation Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill where half a length covered the placegetters on March 31.
A fortnight earlier Daysee Doom beat Oregon’s Day by a short neck with Dixie Blossoms sixth.
Prompt Response and Oregon’s Day are both in the field for the race formerly known as the Queen Of The Turf on Saturday along with last year’s winner Foxplay and runner-up Zanbagh while Alizee is tipped to deliver a strong performance by Godolphin head trainer James Cummings.
Dixie Blossoms, who ran third a year ago, was the $5 favourite with the TAB on Thursday despite drawing barrier 16 with Daysee Doom ($8.50) to her outside in the widest alley.
Quinton said a wide gate counted against Dixie Blossoms in the Emancipation in which Corey Brown settled her back rather than go three-wide.
“Mathematically Dixie couldn’t win the way the race was run,” he said.
“Corey went back and rested her but I maintain horses can only go at their best for 300 metres at the end of a race and by the time she’s got to them her run had basically come to an end.”
Quinton said Daysee Doom wasn’t suited by the slow tempo and in hindsight, Andrew Adkins might have been better to get going sooner.
“If she holds up too much and waits for the others to sprint they can sprint past her and get the better of her quickly,” he said.
Quinton says Dixie Blossoms has the best credentials given she has already won twice over the Randwick 1600 metres.
“I’m not saying Daysee won’t run it, but whether she runs it as quick as the others remains to be seen,” he said.
Brown said he thought Dixie Blossoms was going to win the Emancipation despite the run she had.
“I still thought she was going to win with a furlong to g,” he said.
“I travelled up but I knew I didn’t have a lot of horse left. I used a lot of petrol to get to them.”
