If the upcoming Rosehill meeting was a day later, in-form mare So Newchee Thinks would be banned from competing.
The daughter of So You Think is in foal to Starspangledbanner and under the rules, the official cut-off for her racing career is February 1, which happens to be the date of Saturday’s Rosehill card.
“She can’t race on Sunday, but she can race on Saturday,” trainer Kris Lees quipped.
The timing might be close, but So Newchee Thinks has earned her racetrack swansong in the Ranvet Handicap (2000m) where she will bid to claim a Saturday-grade win before retiring to stud.
The mare has been racing in tremendous form since testing in-foal, winning her past two starts in midweek city grade.
Lees isn’t sure whether its because impending motherhood sufts her, or she is just maturing.
“It can happen, but it’s the chicken or the egg. It could just be time and maturity,” he said.
“She’s a So You Think mare who always had potential and has taken a little while to peak. She’s a four-year-old now and probably just needed that bit of time too.”
So, do connections have any regrets not waiting another year for the broodmare barn?
“I haven’t asked,” Lees admitted.
“There might be a little bit.”
The Newcastle trainer will also saddle up Age Of Sail in the race and expects him to relish a middle-distance after finishing midfield over 1500m first-up.
If he can rise to the occasion, the Group 3 Parramatta Cup (1900m) at Rosehill on February 22 is a potential target.
“That would be a logical race, although it’s a race where a lot of nice horses resume too,” Lees said.
“Hopefully he will have a couple of runs going into it if we go that way. It’s something we’d consider but he’d need to be winning on Saturday to be running there, I’d say.”
