After beating expensive filly Al Naifa on debut, Lady Horseowner gets the chance to chase black type in her second start at Caulfield.
Lady Horseowner is scheduled to run in Saturday’s Blue Diamond Preview (1000m) for fillies and while she is likely to be giving away a size advantage to many of her rivals, Eurell is convinced she won’t lack anything in terms of competitiveness.
After her hard-fought win last month at Moonee Valley, Eurell gave Lady Horseowner a freshen-up with a view to testing her in Saturday’s Group Three race.
“She spelled terrific,” Eurell said.
“She didn’t grow much by any means but she was in great condition when she came back in, and typical of her she hasn’t missed a beat.
“She’s picked up from where she left off last time and has been the ultimate professional all the way through. It’s given us every opportunity to get her the races on Saturday.”
Eurell believes races such as the Preview present the right opportunity for Lady Horseowner to make an impact.
“I think one of the significant factors with her is that she’s not overly big and we probably need to capitalise on a couple of these two-year-old fillies races and see if we can strike early,” Eurell said.
“When the others start to grow a bit, I just don’t know how much she’s going to grow and she may find it a little bit difficult further on down the track.
“Ability wise, I think she’s got plenty of ability and plenty of constitution, but size is going to certainly be a factor if she starts getting a bit of weight.”
Eurell is hoping for a softer barrier draw than Lady Horseowner had when she fought back in the final 100m to deny the Tony McEvoy-trained Al Naifa by half a head.
Al Naifa, a $1.8 million yearling, won a maiden for two-year-old fillies at Sale comfortably at her second start on Sunday.
“I think she’ll be highly competitive. It’s just her nature,” Eurell said.
“She doesn’t know how to give in. This time of the year you just don’t know where the others are at and you’ve certainly got to give them the opportunity to be in the race and compete.
“It will be interesting to see where we end up on Saturday but I know one thing is for sure, she’ll give 110 per cent.”
