Father-and-son training combination Tony and Calvin McEvoy hope to be dining out on a juicy steak rather than a plate of mac ‘n’ cheese on Saturday.
They are looking to four-year-old mare, Mac ‘N’ Cheese, who lines up in the Quayclean Handicap (1400m) at Sandown on Saturday, to be their ticket to a more expensive fare.
The trainers were left scratching their heads after her most recent effort at Caulfield.
Following a third-place finish in the Group 3 Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes at Flemington on Melbourne Cup Day, Mac ‘N’ Cheese failed to raise her backers hope when beating only one home in the Group 3 Summoned Stakes (1600m) at Caulfield on November 26.
“She ran very poorly the other day. She didn’t turn up for us for some reason,” Tony McEvoy said.
“I’ve been over her with a fine-tooth comb and can’t find a thing amiss.
“So, the blinkers go back on, fresh, back to 1400 metres, down in grade and on a big galloping track, we’re hoping for better.
“I just don’t think Caulfield is her track and when she ran there the ground was getting quite quick late in the day.”
Mac ‘N’ Cheese is a half-sister to sprinters Exceedance and Oxley Road and stretched out in trip as a three-year-old.
She was successful at Listed level at 1600m in Adelaide before running third in the Group 3 Auraria Stakes (1800m) at Morphettville before finding the 2000m of the Group 1 Australasian Oaks (2000m) a shade far.
McEvoy is confident Mac ‘N’ Cheese can bounce back at Sandown on Saturday after giving the trainers some positive signs in trackwork.
“All the signs at home are that she will bounce back,” McEvoy said.
“She’s in as good order as she’s ever been, and we just need her to take that to the races.”
