Less is more when it comes to the training regime of in-form Canberra mare One Aye , who is preparing to line up for her14th campaign run at Randwick.
The six-year-old kicked off her current preparation at Moruya in December and has raced at least once a month since, highlighted by her Murrumbidgee Cup win at Wagga in April.
It was that victory that sparked training partners Barbara Joseph ksephn, her sons Paul and Matt Jones to take a fresh approach – literally.
Prone to getting over-excited around other horses and tying up, One Eye had spent her preparation at their smaller and less populated Sapphire Coast base.
However, following a luckless run in the Wellington Cup in April, the team decided to send her around on a seven-day back-up and figuring she wouldn’t need to step out on the track between runs, she stayed at their main Canberra stable.
“With the treadmill we have there and the swimming pool, we were able to keep her up to the mark,” Paul Jones said.
“Ever since then she has stayed in Canberra and all we’ve done with her is barrier trial her or jump her out, they’re the only times she has had saddles on her back.
“All the other times, she uses the treadmill or she swims.
“That’s how we have managed to keep her going, putting her on the treadmill, swimming her and giving her barrier trials.”
Since adopting the new routine and environment, One Aye has raced six times for a win and three seconds, including a close miss behind Bright Red in a similar class race to what she meets in the James Squire Handicap (1800m) on Saturday.
Jones has followed the same weekly pattern of jump-out, treadmill, swim, repeat and he is hoping it results in an overdue city win.
As to whether there is any thought of pulling up stumps on One Aye’s campaign, connections are waiting for a sign that she has had enough but they haven’t seen one yet.
“She looks so good and her coat is so good for a horse that’s kept in Canberra, she’s not even clipped,” Jones said.
“She is licking the bin out and she is the matriarch of the stable. She has got the best box, she overlooks the track and it keeps her happy.
“We have been waiting for a bad run to say, ‘that’s it’, but she hasn’t done it yet.”
