After two midweek city wins, a fit and in-form Extra Olives will get her chance to chase valuable black type in The Vanity at Flemington.
Extra Olives, by champion sire Redoute’s Choice out of Line Honours, fetched $500,000 as a yearling.
Line Honours is a daughter of champion race filly Alinghi who Lee Freedman trained during her Australian race career which included four Group One wins.
Freedman is also the co-trainer of Extra Olives and admits the opportunity to run the three-year-old in Saturday’s Vanity (1400m) for fillies was too good to pass up.
“She’s in such great form, and has done extremely well since she won last start, so it’s extremely difficult to pass up on an offer of running her in a Group Three over the same distance against her own age and dropping in weight,” Freedman, who trains in partnership with his brother Anthony, said.
“There’s obviously fillies there who are better regarded but she’s very fit and she’s very honest. So we’ll give her her chance.”
Extra Olives has won four of her 10 starts with back-to-back midweek metropolitan wins in benchmark races at Sandown at her past two starts.
A win or placing on Saturday would enhance the filly’s future value as a broodmare.
“The American chap, Jon Kelly, who bought her paid a lot of money for her and she’s certainly probably worth nearly what he paid for her now, bred as she is and being a dual city winner,” Freedman said.
“But if she could get black type that would be icing on the cake.”
A field of 10 has been declared for The Vanity headlined by dual Group-winning filly Legless Veuve who defeated the colts and geldings first-up in the Manfred Stakes.
Legless Veuve is the early $3.50 favourite while Extra Olives is on the second line at $4.60.
Group Two winner Nurse Kitchen has had early support at $6 for her return from a spell while VRC Oaks runner-up Harlow Gold ($7) is also resuming.
“(Extra Olives) is going in off a strong win at Sandown over the trip against older mares, giving some of them weight,” Freedman said.
“She’s back to 55 kilos against good class three-year-old fillies, but she will be close to the fittest in the race.”
