Pinker Pinker will be first up in the Group 3 Cockram Stakes
She will run first up for the spring this Saturday in the Group 3 Cockram Stakes at Caulfield Racecourse.
Greg Eurell says his mare is in great shape coming into this weekend and is expecting her to be on the same level as what she left on last prep.
Her last start was on a heavy Randwick track back in April where she ran third in the AJC Oaks behind Absolutely and Shamrocker.
Eurell is set to experiment with a change in race strategy in the early part of this season with a forward striding style paying off in an 800m barrier trial at Cranbourne on Monday.
They’ll try a similar thing this Saturday and see if they can jag a spot just off the pace.
“I was quite happy with the little trial she had on Monday. Dwayne (Dunn) just gave her a very soft trial,” Eurell said.
“She hasn’t missed a beat, she’s had a good prep this time in and everything is on target for this race to kick off her campaign and I’m looking forward to it.
“Nothing worries her and she’s come back looking fantastic and bulked up a little bit more and picked up from where she left off last time.
“Mentally and physically she’s a very sound product.”
She will need a little bit of luck from gate nine in the 15 horse field but veteran jockey Damien Oliver is arguably the best man to see that she gets a nice spot.
“She should get into a reasonable position from nine,” Eurell said.
Eurell says he already has her spring schedule in his mind with a series of events hopefully taking her all the way to the 2011 Caulfield Cup.
After this weekend she’ll go through the Group 2 Let’s Elope Stakes at Flemington on September 3rd and the WH Stocks Stakes over 1600m at Moonee Valley seven days later.
“From thereon in we will see how she’s going. She’s in the Caulfield Cup but it’s obviously going to be a big step up once you get away from the mares races,” Eurell said.
“I thought she ran exceptionally in the AJC Oaks, especially considering it was her first time over the trip, and it gave us a good indication of what we can aim for this time.
“One huge bonus with her is that she can handle all conditions.
“We’ll head in that (Caulfield Cup) direction but if it is not going to plan we’ll give her an ease up and there are a couple of nice mile (1600m) mares races for her.”
If Pinker Pinker isn’t deemed up to the challenge of a Caulfield Cup start there are still Group options available.
The Tesio Stakes is run on the same card as the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley on October 22 and the Group 1 Myer Classic would be a good fit at Flemington on October 29.
Pinker Pinker looks good value with online bookmaker Luxbet for the Cockram Stakes and is at a fixed price of $13.
Pinker Pinker is the Group 2 Angus Armanasco Stakes champion and coming off a successful 2010 / 2011 season.
