Filly Tigroni is set to make her debut in the opening event at Rosehill, although co-trainer John O’Shea is quick to point out the race isn’t his first choice.
Saturday’s Schweppes Handicap (1100m) was Plan B, O’Shea having been keen to run the youngster in a juvenile event at Wyong on Wednesday, which was scrapped by Racing NSW due to a lack of numbers.
Rival trainer Gai Waterhouse took to social media to express her disappointment at that decision, a sentiment echoed by O’Shea.
“We had her in on Wednesday and that was our preferred option,” he said.
“Racing NSW cancelled the race because it had six acceptors, but what they’re forgetting is that it’s a lead-up to the Magic Millions at Wyong in two weeks’ time.
“Fair enough that race was light on acceptors, and they said a couple of horses were dual nominated. We were one of them.
“The reason we were dual ‘nomed’ is we don’t trust Racing NSW to hold the race, so you have to have a back-up plan. We wanted to go around on Wednesday.”
O’Shea’s preference was a matter of timing with the Wyong Magic Millions 2YO Classic being held on December 10.
If Tigroni takes her place at Rosehill, it will be too short a turnaround, and she will have to bypass the lucrative feature.
Frustrations aside, O’Shea is confident he has a talented two-year-old who he hopes can earn qualification for the Magic Millions Classic (1200m) at the Gold Coast in January.
The filly was impressive putting a space on her rivals at her latest trial after racing greenly at her first hit-out, and O’Shea says she has enough natural gate speed to overcome a tricky draw in barrier nine.
“She has been a delight the whole way through,” he said.
Significantly, she also some familiar names among her ownership group, including the respective wives of O’Shea and co-trainer Tom Charlton.
“More importantly, Tom’s mother-in-law, Mrs Camillieri, is involved,” O’Shea said.
“He might not get fed on Saturday night.”
