Luck in the run will be the key ingredient for Kimochi when she bids to give champion apprentice Zac Lloyd his first Group 1 win in the Coolmore Classic at Rosehill.
Trainer Gary Portelli was hoping for a kinder draw than 14 in the 18-strong field but could still find positives for his three-year-old with just 50.5kg.
“The barrier is disappointing at this stage, but it’s a big field, she’s got a light weight and they should spread out a bit,” Portelli said.
“There seems to be good speed in the race. It comes down to a lot of luck now.”
Kimochi ended a succession of minor placings in feature races with an overdue victory in the Group 2 Light Fingers Stakes (1200m) last month.
Portelli was hopeful she could convert that into a Group 1 win in the Surround Stakes (1400m) but after a sluggish start, Kimochi found herself in the second half of the field in a slowly run race, finishing seventh.
While the result wasn’t what he wanted, Portelli felt it just wasn’t his filly’s day.
“She never got into the race when she needed to and she’s a horse that, in that race, should have been up on the pace,” he said.
“We’ve just got to put a line through that run.
“The problem is, we’re going up in grade now against older horses. When we missed out on that three-year-old race, you’ve got to take your pill.
“But she worked great on Saturday morning and she’s in good order.”
Lloyd reunites with Kimochi for the first time since guiding her to her maiden win at Randwick’s Kensington track last year.
The star young rider has two Group 1 placings on his resume but is still chasing his first major, as is Kimochi who will be bidding to become the first three-year-old to beat the mares since Typhoon Tracy in 2009.
She is among three members of her age group who will line up in Saturday’s 1500m race, along with Surround Stakes winner Tropical Squall and Victorian Barby’s Doll.
