Canberra trainer Nick Olive is hopeful his opinion of Proud Mia will be proven correct when the two-year-old is tested at metropolitan level for the first time at Rosehill.
Olive used a 900m maiden at Queanbeyan to launch Proud Mia’s career and admits he treated that race as somewhat of a barrier trial for the filly who did what her trainer expected, proving too fast for her country rivals to win by almost four lengths.
Proud Mia was entered for Thursday’s Bathurst 2YO Gold Nugget but Olive scratched her in preference to run her in Sydney in Saturday’s Darley 2YO Handicap (1100m).
“I think she goes pretty well and I just want to see where she fits in,” Olive said.
“I’m not saying she’s going to go there and win but I just want to see where she fits in with a better class of horse.
“It is exciting but I’m a little bit anxious about it too. She’s got to handle a heavy track, she’s got to handle the 1100 metres. But if she came out and won it would be very exciting, for sure.
“I have got an opinion of the horse but she needs to show us where she’s at now and where we think she might be next preparation.”
Olive says Proud Mia is “very fast” but also seems professional in what she does.
“She’s got a lot of natural speed and that’s probably her biggest asset,” he said.
“She’s probably been one of the fastest horses I’ve trained, over sectionals. She can run some very fast sectionals.
“But obviously stepping up to 1100 metres, I don’t know where she fits in yet because she needs to do it on a racecourse.
“I know she won easily the other day but that was more like a barrier trial and she did that with her natural speed.
“That’s going to be the thing, over 1100 metres how she fits into the picture.”
Proud Mia, who will carry 51kg after apprentice Loiuse Day’s 3kg claim, has had early support from double figures into $7.
Olive said Proud Mia was not wound up for her Queanbeyan debut.
“She’s a lot fitter going into this run,” he said.
