Any horse’s name starting with Mishani in a two-year-old race in Queensland immediately puts rivals on notice.
Trainer Les Ross has once again helped carry owner/breeder Mike Crooks’ Mishani Enterprises brand to prominence this season with his Mishani two-year-old’s dominating the juvenile races right from the very first two-year-old race of the season at Toowoomba in September, where Mishani Scandal and Mishani Operator ran the quinella for the stable.
And now the big one awaits … the $500 000 QTIS Jewel for two-year-olds!
Ross has two runners taking on that important assignment and, already on the plus side, Mishani Enchanted and Mishani Delight are the two runners in the race with the most race experience … often an important factor in two-year-old contests … having faced the starter seven times and six times respectively.
“They are both in there and they both will have good chances I would think,” said trainer Les Ross, “but I really like Mishani Delight.”
Mishani Delight has won two of her last four starts … starting with her Maiden win … but has finished unplaced in her last two outings. She will be backing up after her unplaced finish behind the useful Stifmeister last week.
“She was disappointing in her last run,” acknowledged Ross. “She went to 1300m there and probably didn’t quite get the 1300m. Back to 1200m, backing up on a likely heavy track … she will be fit. My horses go better in the wet so hopefully we get the rain that is forecast.
“This week Mishani Delight has done well. I haven’t done a lot with her … just trot and canter. Drawn the one alley, she is going to get a nice run.
“Mishani Enchanted is also a very nice horse,” continued Ross. ‘Both of these horses have done exceptionally well for the year and I’m very happy with them. I would say that, apart from Sweet Dolly, they have both won more prize-money (over $100 000 each) than anyone else in the race.
“Again, apart from Sweet Dolly” (who is unbeaten in three starts), “the field is not much stronger than we have been racing against, so I think both of my horses will give a good account of themselves.”
Ross also has Mishani Miss engaged in the $500 000 QTIS Jewel for three-year-olds.
“I thought she actually choked down last start (when comprehensively beaten by Simply Fly, who she meets again here), so she’ll have a tongue-tie on Saturday,” said Ross.
“Before that she generally was better over 1000m than 1200m” (all five of Mishani Miss’s five career wins have come over 1000m or 1050m), “but she ran a super race in the Magic Millions Sprint over 1200m, only coming in a couple of lengths behind Jonker which was a really encouraging effort.
“I think she will run well.”
