By Michael Guerin
Kiwi trainer Steven Reid isn’t letting the cold hard facts of the barrier draw for Saturday’s Hunter Cup dent his confidence.
Because as Reid sees it, last Saturday showed him a good draw can quickly become a bad one and vice versa.
Reid has Star Galleria in the A$500,000 Hunter Cup and Utmost Delight in the A$30,000 Pure Steel at Melton this Saturday.
Both have tricky draws, with Star Galleria drawn the second line and Utmost Delight wide on the front in a small field.
But while Utmost Delight has a class edge on many of her rivals, Star Galleria not only faces the might of the All Stars but the even more unenviable task of giving Tiger Tara a start as he has drawn seemingly perfectly at barrier three over the 2760m mobile.
“That doesn’t look good, especially if Tiger Tara is at his best,” says Reid.
“But often in big races what can seem a good draw can be a bad one and vice versa.
“Last Saturday I thought we had a good draw with Utmost Delight in the Ladyship Cup and she ended up sitting parked in a 1:51 mile rate for the 1720m and the horse who won (Carla’s Pixel) came from the second line.
“So I am not going to let the draw bother us too much because the horse is very, very well and we have Tony (Herlihy).
“Sure, Tiger Tara might be too good on his best form but first he has to turn up in that form and even then I just hope there is some early pressure and we can come into the race later.”That looks likely as the All Stars pair of Thefixer and Cruz Bromac are also drawn the second line either side of Star Galleria and if the trio settle back they could all move together.
Whether that is good enough to sit parked or one-one and come from behind Tiger Tara is what we will all find out.
“The good news is I couldn’t be happier with my horses,” says Reid.
“The heat hasn’t affected them at all and they seem right at the top of their game.
“Maybe Star can’t win from that draw against Tiger Tara but funny things can happen in big races.”Reid is far more confident with Utmost Delight as she takes on a mixed bunch of free-for-allers in the Pure Steel.
“She was good last week after sitting parked but I am sure she will be even better this week.
“She has really bounced out of the run well and I think she will race very close to her peak.”
All going well after Saturday night the Reid pair will head to Menangle for the Miracle Mile meeting, where Utmost Delight will target the Ladyship Mile.
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