Maher 'couldn't be happier' with boom filly ahead of debut
Ciaron Maher is bullish about the prospects of two-year-old Enthaar, who will start an odds-on favourite in the group 3 Gimcrack Stakes at Randwick on debut on Saturday.
The filly by Written Tycoon couldn't have been more impressive in a Kensington trial when she clocked 50 seconds flat over 850 metres with James McDonald on board.
Ciaron Maher has has high hopes for debutant Enthaar.Credit:Getty
Maher told RSN he was looking forward to the race.
"She's definitely come on in the coat," he said.
"She was fairly impressive there and she's done a couple of little pieces of work and she's breezed through them. She seems in great order.
"She's a two-year-old having her first start but I couldn't have been happier with her, how she trialled and how she's come out of it. Compared to all our other two-year-olds, she seems like an older horse."
Last hurrah
Warhorse Santa Ana Lane will be out to find his best form on Saturday in what is expected to be the start of his final racing campaign.
The Anthony and Sam Freedman-trained sprinter will line up in Saturday's Gilgai Stakes at Flemington, in a race which includes Tofane, Zoutori and The Inevitable, before a second-up tilt at The Everest, which is expected to be his retirement race.
A winner of more than $7.7 million in prizemoney, Santa Ana Lane finished second in last year's Gilgai to Sunlight before a runner-up finish to Yes Yes Yes in The Everest.
The eight-year-old will retire a five-time group 1 winner.
Legend status on line
Les Bridge believes his progressive sprinter Classique Legend can cause an upset on Saturday and knock off champion Nature Strip in the Premiere Stakes at Randwick.
Where the grey settles in the run will depend on the pace of the race, but if they go fast up front, Bridge says his horse will be flying home.
"In The Everest, the pressure is going to be on like it was in The Shorts and that enables him to fly home," he told RSN Radio.
"If Nature Strip can dictate the pace on his terms and sprint away [on Saturday], it's probably going to be hard to run him down but if they go along and make a horse race out of it, the grey will be coming at him in the finish, I can tell you that."
Bridge said his five-year-old gelding had furnished into a really strong horse.
"He's certainly the best sprinter I've had, over 1200 metres, no doubt," he said.
"He's grown into a beautiful horse. Last year, he just wasn't quite there. That time he's had out, he's developed into a powerhouse really."
Damien Ractliffe is the Chief Racing Reporter for The Age.