Autumn plans for Group One winner Ilovethiscity are up in the air following a perplexing barrier trial performance.
Trainer Grahame Begg had been considering taking Ilovethiscity to Melbourne for a first-up tilt at Saturday’s Group One Newmarket Handicap but shelved the idea when he finished down the track in a 1000m trial on the Kensington track last Monday.
“He won’t be running in it (Newmarket),” Begg said.
“I thought he trialled only fair. It was a bit perplexing. I don’t know what to make of it to be frank.
“He’s going to have another trial and we will assess him from there.
“He’s a bit older so he might just be taking a bit longer to come to hand.”
The winner of the 2011 Randwick Guineas finished runner-up in both the Warwick Stakes (1400m) and George Main Stakes (1600m) last campaign before a leg sprain cut short his spring.
Stablemate Secret Admirer will also bypass the Newmarket in favour of an assignment closer to home.
The dual Group One winner resumed with a courageous third to No Evidence Needed in the Group Three Southern Cross Stakes last month lumping 59.5kg.
Begg said she had come through the race in good shape and was on target to tackle Saturday’s Group Three Liverpool City Cup (1300m) at Warwick Farm.
Stablemate All Silent is slated to resume in the same race.
The veteran sprinter has not won a race for more than two years but showed a glimpse of his old form with a close-up fifth in the Cameron Handicap at his most recent run in September.
Meanwhile, trainer Neville Layt is looking at the Listed Maurice McCarten Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill on March 24 as a short-term goal for Karuta Queen.
Layt decided to give the filly a freshen-up following a dramatic start to her autumn.
She missed the start first-up in the Rubiton Stakes after barrier rogue Here De Angels played up and delayed the jump then failed to back up a week later when unplaced in the Light Fingers Stakes in Sydney.
Layt has kept her ticking over at his base at Queanbeyan, near Canberra, and said recent heavy rain in the area would not impact his plans.
“We’re up on high ground here,” Layt said.
“She hasn’t stopped working.
“She’s great and she’s back to her old self.”
Layt also has carnival ambitions for two-year-old Red Excitement who will line up the Black Opal Stakes at Canberra on Sunday after scoring at the track last month.
“If he goes well in that he will head to Sydney for the Golden Slipper,” Layt said.
AAP TURF
