Having pushed Autumn Glow first-up, Gangsta Granny threatens to be the testing material for one of the boom mare’s high-profile stablemates when she steps out in the Sheraco Stakes at Rosehill.
Autumn Glow only managed to wear down Gangsta Granny over the final stages of the Toy Show Quality (1100m), getting the verdict by a half-length to keep her unbeaten record intact.
The former won’t be a stumbling block in the Sheraco Stakes (1200m), poised to instead tackle the Theo Marks Stakes (1300m) on Saturday’s Rosehill program, but Autumn Glow’s multiple Group 1-winning barn mate Joliestar will be among Gangsta Granny’s rivals.
This week announced as the representative for the Everest slot held by Chris Waller Racing and Partners, Joliestar is a short-priced $2.25 favourite for the fillies and mares sprint with Gangsta Granny considered her only serious danger as a $3.30 chance.
The latter’s trainer Michael Hawkes saw plenty of merit in her first-up performance and felt she could have pushed Autumn Glow even further had the race panned out slightly differently.
“She just got left wanting in front. I wish the leader had have gone another fifty or seventy metres,” Hawkes said.
“It would have made it interesting because Autumn Glow’s wheels were spinning and then by the time it balanced up, our mare probably still gets beaten but it could have been a little bit different.
“If she’s not there we win and everybody is talking about her.”
The Toy Show Quality was run on a heavy 10 track and Rosehill was in the same range on Thursday following 50 mils of rain in the preceding 24 hours.
The Group 2 has attracted a small but elite field of nine which also includes Doncaster Mile winner Stefi Magnetica, Robert Sangster Stakes runner-up Ameena and the lightly raced Lilac who placed in the Light Fingers Stakes during the autumn.
