This weekend Hall of Fame trainer David Hayes will kick off the Thousand Guineas 2013 campaign of his promising filly Gregers who is set to return at Moonee Valley.
A nicely-bred daughter of Commands out of Canny Lad mare Satnav, Gregers was a $130,000 buy as a weanling from the 2011 Magic Millions Sales and is working towards getting that purchase price back for connections.
She won her race debut at Moonee Valley back in February impressing with a nice one and a half length effort over the 1000m.
Thrown in the deep end second-up Gregers went straight to the top racing in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m).
Going out as a $15 chance she was far from disgraced too when coming with two and a half lengths of the fairytale winner Miracles Of Life for fourth.
She’s been on an extended spell since missing the rest of the autumn to mature and will have her first race as a three-year-old on Saturday in the $80,000 Aquanas Foods Benchmark 78 Handicap (1000m) at the Valley.
Hayes is hoping that from her nice barrier two draw in the diminutive six horse field she can retain her undefeated status at the track even though she’s been allocated a hefty 60kg.
She’ll get a big of weight relief off that however with talented apprentice jockey Kayla Nisbet engaged for the ride getting a three kilo claim.
“It’s a shame she’s got so much weight, but with Kayla Nisbet’s claim it will ease the burden a bit,” Hayes told Racing Victoria.
“Kayla’s probably the leading apprentice in Victoria the last six weeks. She hadn’t ridden a city winner six weeks ago.”
And she’ll likely need it facing a slick field that also includes the Peter Snowden-trained Chairman’s Handicap winner Metastasio, Ballarat Magic Millions Classic winner I’m Too Sexy and Diamond Glow who ran second in the Blue Diamond Preview during the autumn.
There are big things on the horizon for Gregers from there according to Hayes who has her set for a shot at the $500,000 Group 1 Schweppes Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield Racecourse on Wednesday October 16.
“You shouldn’t really spruik them until they’ve done it, but it looks like she’s progressed well,” Hayes said.
“She’s a very promising filly.”
2013 Thousand Guineas nominations close on Tuesday, August 8, as do those for the colts and geldings’ equivalent – the $1 million Group 1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m) four days earlier.
Futures betting on the Guineas features is then set to open at bookmaker.com.au making now the time to sign-up with them so you can get behind the likes of Gregers in the juicy early markets.
