Calvin McEvoy was initially not thrilled to see Pride Of Jenni bob up as a surprise rival for Half Yours in the Hollindale Stakes, but he is optimistic that having had a run against her will aid his prospects in features to come.
The Melbourne Cup winner finished third in the 1800-metre Group 2 event at the Gold Coast on May 9, which was won by Pride Of Jenni, and they will again clash in this Saturday’s $1 million Doomben Cup.
The 2000-metre weight-for-age Group 1 was always slated as the third-up run for Half Yours, ahead of the $1.2m Q22 (2200m) on June 13, and McEvoy said the one positive of having run against the relentless front-runner second-up was that he was probably fitter than he otherwise would have been.
“It was a hard run and nothing took him into the race so he had to make that run quite early and he was probably entitled to level off a little bit that last furlong, which I think he did,” McEvoy said.
“But if you’re stepping up in trip those hard runs are what you want and he definitely had that.
“He’s come through the run well, he’ll be well-suited this weekend and then even better suited in the Q22.”
The five-year-old son of St Jean will be having his first start at Doomben in the Doomben Cup, but familiarised himself with the track with a low-key gallop between races at last Saturday’s Doomben 10,000 meeting.
He had a look around Doomben, which he got around fine, but obviously it’s a tight circuit and it’s a circuit that, once again, is going to suit Pride Of Jenni,” McEvoy, who trains in partnership with father Tony, said. “But he’s come through last week very well, a bit of rain around will help and he’s had that second-up run.
“If you look through his form, second up last time he nearly got beaten in a benchmark 64 at Seymour.
“So, maybe the second up run is one that’s, I am not going to say flat because he still ran well, but we’re hoping he springboards off of that.”
The Doomben Cup is the feature race on a card that also includes the key lead-up to the Queensland Oaks, the Group 2 The Roses (2000m), and the Group 3 BRC Sprint (1350m), which carries a ballot exemption from the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap on June 13.
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