In-form mare Lyrical Girl has not ticked the wet track box but trainer Tony Gollan believes she can address that form anomaly at Doomben.
Lyrical Girl will be attempting to make it four straight wins this campaign in the TAB Create Your Spring Calendar Handicap (1110m).
The mare is by Your Song, a noted sire of wet trackers, but from five starts on soft and heavy tracks she remains winless.
Doomben is rated a heavy eight but Gollan is confident of an upgrade before Lyrical Girl’s race if no more rain falls.
“Following a couple of 30 degree days it can certainly improve. I’d be shocked if we got no more rain and it stays in the heavy range,” Gollan said.
“I think it’ll get back to soft and possibly the better side of soft so it should be a nice surface on Saturday and hopefully we don’t get any storms or rain during the meeting.”
Gollan said Lyrical Girl has thrived since winning at the Sunshine Coast at her latest appearance on October 9.
“This race maps beautifully for her. She’s had 22 days from that last run to this which is really suitable,” he said.
“Her work’s been terrific. She’s been a real revelation this preparation.”
Lyrical Girl is a $1.80 favourite with TAB fixed odds which Gollan believes is a realistic price.
“This mare’s going particularly well. She’s held her weight, she looks super in her coat and I’d expect her to be very hard to beat,” he said.
“The market tells you that. She’s nice and short but I don’t think she’ll give people too many worries.”
If the rain does arrive later in the day, Gollan believes he has his bases covered with Royal Hale in the Sky Racing Handicap (1350m).
“Even if there is rain around it’s not going to affect his performance,” he said.
“He’s a far better horse with the sting out of the track than he is on firm ground. He races better on it and pulls up better off it.
“If they get rain on the day and it becomes affected, he’s won on the heavy so the ground is in his favour.”
