Leotie heads to Bendigo on way to Guineas

Henry Dwyer has had to alter Leotie’s Thousand Guineas path but the trainer doesn’t believe missing the Prelude will affect her chances.

Leotie was scratched from Saturday’s Group Two race after being treated for a minor respiratory infection.

Dwyer will now take the filly to Bendigo on Thursday to run in a 1400m benchmark 78 as a stepping stone to Saturday week’s Thousand Guineas.

“We scoped her on Thursday and she just had a bit of tracheal mucus and we had to treat her for that,” Dwyer said.

The four-day withholding period of the treatment meant she couldn’t run on Saturday but Dwyer said the filly scoped clean on Saturday morning and was able to gallop.

“So she hasn’t missed any work. She just missed that run but she needs to race somewhere so Bendigo fitted the bill,” Dwyer said.

“It’s a nice big, open track where you can get back and run on.”

He said the filly was in great order.

“And I think she’s really on the up rather than getting to the Guineas and being on the decline,” he said.

While he hopes she wins on Thursday, Dwyer also wants her to relax and find the line strongly with a view to the rise to 1600m in the Guineas.

Leotie was a fast-finishing second in the Quezette Stakes before winning over 1400m in a benchmark fillies race at her next start.

Dwyer said the alteration to Leotie’s program was not a big concern.

“I don’t think it’s that much of a setback,” he said.

“I think she would have been hard to beat the other day so it’s disappointing not to run in a Group Two race, but she’ll go to the races at Bendigo.

“We’re going to be there (in the Thousand Guineas) in the same condition we would have otherwise. We’ve just missed that Group Two run along the way.”