Leon Macdonald will apply blinkers to Southern Speed in an attempt to get her back into form in Saturday's Group Two WH Stocks Stakes at Moonee Valley.The winner of the Group Three The Vanity (1400m) at Flemington last February has got back a long way in both her races this campaign, finishing 13th to Mid Summer Music in the Group Three Cockram Stakes (1200m) and 11th to Little Tycoon over 1400m, both at Caulfield.With her regular jockey Clare Lindopriding in the Listed WH Wylie Hcp (1100m) and
Leon Macdonald will apply blinkers to Southern Speed in an attempt to get her back into form in Saturday's Group Two WH Stocks Stakes at Moonee Valley.
The winner of the Group Three The Vanity (1400m) at Flemington last February has got back a long way in both her races this campaign, finishing 13th to Mid Summer Music in the Group Three Cockram Stakes (1200m) and 11th to Little Tycoon over 1400m, both at Caulfield.
With her regular jockey Clare Lindopriding in the Listed WH Wylie Hcp (1100m) and the Listed Lindsay Park Guineas (1600m) at Morphettville on Saturday, Macdonald has engaged Danny Nikolic for Southern Speed.
Nikolic has had a lot of success for Macdonald in the past aboard the likes of Serious Speed in the 2007 Group One Thousand Guineas and three black-type wins on Umrum including the 1998 Group Two Craiglee Stakes.
"She might be looking for longer, she is not going as bad as her form reads," Macdonald said of Southern Speed.
"She's got two duck eggs next to her name but she's only been beaten five and a half lengths and five lengths after giving them big starts so I don't think she's going that badly.
"The way she is bred, being out of a Zabeel mare, she ought to be running a trip so we'll see what happens on Saturday.
"We are expecting improvement but having said that we are running into a decent race," Macdonald added, referring to the likely presence of first-up Memsie Stakes winner King's Rose, AJC Australian Oaks winner Absolutely and last Saturday's Let's Elope Stakes winner Pinker Pinker.
Last autumn, Southern Speed went back from the outside barrier, 16, when seventh to Shamrocker in the Australian Guineas (1600m) at Flemington before finishing runner-up to Shylight in the Auraria Stakes (1800m) at Morphettville.
She was spelled after running third to Lights Of Heaven and Absolutely in the Group One Australasian Oaks (2000m) at Morphettville.
Connections have left their options open by paying up for the four-year-old as a first acceptor in both the Caulfield Cup and the Cox Plate, but Macdonald prefers the Caulfield Cup in which she is weighted to carry the minimum (50kg).
"We want her to start improving and see where we are going," he said.
"I don't know if she's a Cox Plate horse."