Ron Quinton is staying close to home with gun mares Daysee Doom and Dixie Blossoms as they finalise their preparations for the Myer Classic in Melbourne.
Quinton had considered taking the pair to Caulfield for the first time for Saturday’s Group Two Tristarc Stakes (1400m) after they fought out the Angst Stakes at Randwick on October 7.
However, the Randwick trainer has instead erred on the side of caution and will run them on their home track in The Nivison (1200m).
“I didn’t want to be taking the chance taking them to Caulfield first time. It can be a tricky track for Sydney horses,” Quinton said.
“I didn’t want to take the chance of drawing a bad barrier and not handling the track. Now they’ve only got to come down the hill (from their stable).”
Quinton said he had no option but to run the duo because a scheduling change left a month-long gap between the Angst Stakes and the Group One Myer at Flemington on November 4.
Last year Dixie Blossoms won the Angst Stakes and backed up three weeks later in the Myer, where she finished fourth.
“It was a bit too long not to have another race in between. They can run there (at Randwick) for good prize money and they’ll be competitive as well,” Quinton said.
Dixie Blossoms and Daysee Doom have provided Quinton with the quinella in their last two starts in the Golden Pendant and Angst Stakes and Quinton again expected little to separate the pair.
The stablemates were joint $5 favourites with the Gerald Ryan-trained Diddums when the TAB updated its market for the Group Three race after the field of 12 was confirmed on Wednesday.
“There’s never much between them but you’d have to lean to Daysee a little bit with the 1200 (metres),” Quinton said.
Both recovered well from the Angst Stakes, where Dixie Blossoms beat Daysee Doom for the first time in their four head-to-head meetings.
“The big thing against them is coming back from the 1600 to the 12, that’s the way it is, I can’t do much about it,” Quinton said.
On a positive note, Quinton was pleased Dixie Blossoms and Daysee Doom drew barrier three and five respectively.
Quinton said the five-year-olds had both recovered well from their previous run and had a useful gallop on the course proper on Tuesday
“They’re both good eaters so they needed a bit of a tune-up,” Quinton said.
