Skybird is set to test unfamiliar territory this Saturday, with the talented mare stepping up to 1300 metres in the Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup at Eagle Farm.
As a three-year-old, Skybird showed her versatility by winning the Group 2 Moonee Valley Fillies Classic over 1600 metres in 2023 and finishing third behind Joliestar in the Group 1 Thousand Guineas.
However, since then the Group 1-winning daughter of Exosphere has raced exclusively over sprint distances of 1000m and 1200m. Her only attempt beyond 1200 metres came in the 2024 Golden Eagle (1500m), where she finished 10th.
Trainer Mitchell Freedman acknowledged the rise in distance presents a slight unknown but believes the opportunity is worth taking at this stage of her campaign.
“She’s got to step out to the 1300 metres, which is perhaps a little query, but once you get to this grade there’s not races on for them every week, so you kind of have to take them here and there,” Freedman told Racing.com.
“She’s in great shape, the rain is coming, and hopefully the sting is out of the ground on Saturday.”
Skybird’s preparation has been mixed since returning from a break following last year’s Group 1 Manikato Stakes.
She resumed with a fifth placing behind Generosity in the Group 2 Challenge Stakes at Randwick on March 2 before producing an eye-catching third, beaten only a length by Joliestar, in the Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes at Randwick on April 4.
The five-year-old then disappointed when finishing last in the Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes at Morphettville on April 25 before improving with a seventh placing behind Rothfire in the Group 1 Doomben 10,000 on May 16.
Freedman said there were genuine excuses for her Adelaide performance.
“Coming out of Adelaide, she had a bit of an average blood when she got back. She was just not quite herself,” Freedman explained.
“It must have been something that developed in the 24 hours before the race, or on raceday, but she just didn’t perform up to her best.
“She also copped a hip-and-shoulder in that race and that threw her off her game.
“We had to just scratch that and make the call to send her to Queensland after that, and trust that she was going well, and I think that, even though she was beaten a little bit of a margin, she ran really well and showed she is back in form.”
Kerrin McEvoy has been booked to ride Skybird in Saturday’s Kingsford Smith Cup.
