It was another busy day at the trials for Te Akau trainer Jamie Richards as he oversees the preparation of his spring stars.
The Matamata horseman took a handful of his top runners to Ellerslie on Tuesday, and he was pleased with what he saw from his team on the heavy surface.
Multiple Group One winner Probabeel wasn’t suited by the heavy conditions and Richards said she had to be urged on by jockey Opie Bosson in her 900m trial.
“She usually doesn’t like that sort of ground and Opie had to kick her along a bit to make her finish off, but that is her as well,” Richards said on SEN Track's Bensley.
“She’ll come on in leaps and bounds from that, most of the time she finishes further back on that ground.”
The star mare will now head to Melbourne with Richards setting her for a Cox Plate preparation.
“She is in good shape and will probably go straight to Melbourne,” Richards said.
“Probably still working towards the Cox Plate, if at any stage she tells us that she doesn’t want to stay that far, then we’ll redirect her towards the Empire Rose.
“She will run there at the end of the month, I am not exactly sure what race that will be in yet, it could be the Memsie, or there is another race on the same card Group 3 Cockram Stakes, 1200m."
Probabeel is currently rated a $6 chance in the Memsie Stakes.