Recommendation and Mrs Chrissie have been staples of the Ciaron Maher sprint team for a number of seasons now, but both will make a rare appearance at Flemington this Saturday.
The pair will have just their second start each at Australia’s most famous racecourse in the 1100-metre Quality Handicap.
Mrs Chrissie hasn’t been to Flemington since finishing fifth in an 1100m benchmark 70 in May 2023, while Recommendation’s only exposure to the straight course came when third in the Listed Century Stakes (1000m).
Both do most of their racing at Caulfield, which is where they will return after this weekend, but Maher’s assistant trainer Jack Turnbull is confident the straight course will pose no problems.
“She’ll be fine and Recommendation is no fool either, so both of ours who we take are going to be well suited,” Turnbull said.
Recommendation is out to maintain a perfect a second-up in what will be his first start out of Stakes grade since last year’s Country Discovery at Yarra Valley.
The Shalaa five-year-old was beaten just over 2-1/2 lengths in the Listed Bel Esprit Stakes (1100m) on May 31 and Turnbull believes he is in similar form to last year but needs to adjust to carrying more weight.
“He’s unbeaten second up, he’s four from four, so he needs to put his hand up, naturally, but I guess 12 months on we’re the same horse just in worse at the handicaps,” he said.
“He looks fantastic and is showing no signs of being any different.”
Mrs Chrissie will have her first run since finishing second-last at Morphettville in the Group 3 Irwin Stakes won by Asfoora on April 12, which Turnbull described as a forgettable experience.
“I think the travel and the weather that day really got the better of her,” he said.
“She clearly wasn’t at her best, so we were pretty keen just to back off and reset.
“Her three prior to that Adelaide race were OK without being amazing. In hindsight, she was definitely not at her best that prep but if she gets back to it, (it’s a) different ball game.”
The open sprint is the part of a Flemington card that also includes the $150,000 The David Bourke, which is a qualifier for the Winter Championship Final, and heats of the Creswick Sprint Series, Silver Bowl Series and Mahogany Series for the three-year-old stayers.
