Fillydelphia has recovered from a minor back ailment to join stablemate Fire Up Fifi on a trip to Sydney for a tilt at Saturday’s Group Three Sheraco Stakes at Rosehill.
Leading Brisbane trainer Robert Heathcote was disappointed with Fillydelphia when she could finish only fourth in a Doomben barrier trial last Tuesday but has since pinpointed the problem.
“She only trialled fair so I had my stable chiropractor look at her and she was definitely sore in the lower back,” Heathcote said.
“He spent a bit of time manipulating her and under saddle in trackwork the next morning her regular rider Peter Spargo said she felt great.”
Fillydelphia’s back complaint is the latest in a long list of niggling injuries Heathcote has had to treat.
“She had a mouth ulcer earlier this year which took a long time to treat and unfortunately meant she had to miss the winter carnival,” he said.
A winner of the Group Three Rough Habit Plate as a three-year-old, Fillydelphia will be ridden by Nathan Berry in the Sheraco (1200m).
Heathcote has booked Glyn Schofield to ride Fire Up Fifi who chased home stable spearhead Buffering in an earlier heat.
“I was really happy with the way she trialled and she’s certainly bang on track where I need her to be,” he said.
Jason Collett will ride last year’s Toorak Handicap winner Solzhenitsyn who joins the mares on the trip south to resume in the Group Two Sebring Stakes (1400m).
Heathcote nominated Solzhenitsyn for Eagle Farm last Saturday before settling on the Sebring as the gelding’s comeback run.
“If we ran him at Eagle Farm we couldn’t be guaranteed a flight next week to take him to Melbourne which was going to be an issue,” he said.
“The travel arrangements were more conducive to running him at Rosehill then putting him on the float for his next run in the Rupert Clark at Caulfield.”
When he resumed last campaign, Solzhenitsyn produced one of the best runs of his career. He raced three deep without cover before finishing third to champions Pierro and More Joyous in the Group One Canterbury Stakes (1300m) at Rosehill.
