Trainer Rick Hore-Lacy agrees with the price assessors and believes Ilovethiscity is the horse Toorak Toff has to beat in Saturday's $1 million Caulfield Guineas.A son of 2000 winner Show A Heart, Toorak Toff remains favourite and has firmed slightly after coming up with barrier eight of the 16 runners."There's probably only two or three lengths between the first four or five horses in the race and barriers and luck in running have a very important part," Hore-Lacy, who won the race with Redoute
Trainer Rick Hore-Lacy agrees with the price assessors and believes Ilovethiscity is the horse Toorak Toff has to beat in Saturday's $1 million Caulfield Guineas.
A son of 2000 winner Show A Heart, Toorak Toff remains favourite and has firmed slightly after coming up with barrier eight of the 16 runners.
"There's probably only two or three lengths between the first four or five horses in the race and barriers and luck in running have a very important part," Hore-Lacy, who won the race with Redoute's Choice in 1999, said.
"And that is one of the great things about racing, not always the best horse wins because of those two factors.
"There are seven better ones (barriers) but I think Ollie (Damien Oliver) should be able to get some cover from there one off the fence, probably midfield, and have his chance in the straight. I don't think that's such a bad gate."
Toorak Toff goes into the Guineas with the best form having won five of his nine starts including the Group One Golden Rose (1400m) at Rosehill on August 28 and more than $1 million in prizemoney.
The next highest stakemoney earner in the race is Newcastle Spring Stakes winner, the Grahame Begg-trained Ilovethiscity with $303,100.
Last start Toorak Toff raced wide and looked unlucky to be beaten a long neck by Guineas rival Anacheeva when runner-up in the Guineas Prelude (1400m) at Caulfield on September 18.
Toorak Toff defeated Ilovethiscity by less then a half-length into third place in the Golden Rose and Hore-Lacy said the colt's effort to circle the field and win was arguably the best run of the race.
"Grahame's horse (Ilovethiscity) was a very good run, but instead of having to make a 700-metre run and go around everything as ours did, his horse only had to make a 200-metre run and of course he flashed home," Hore-Lacy said.
"You couldn't take anything away, it was obviously a very good run and he's high class and he's since proven that by winning the Spring Stakes so he's going to be hard to beat."
Begg was not overly perturbed by Magic Albert colt Ilovethiscity drawing out in barrier 11 as his racing style is to settle back early.
"The horse likes to relax in the early part of his races and conserve his energy for his finish," he said.
"It's his first time this (left-handed) direction but we feel he's pretty tractable and we feel he'll handle it.
"He handled the track (Caulfield) very well there this morning. He galloped out wide and got around the turn very well."
Glen Boss will again ride Ilovethiscity having ridden him for the first time when he won the Group Three Spring Stakes (1600m) when he jumped from barrier 14 on September 15.
Begg said Toorak Toff was the horse to beat being trained at Caulfield and a winner there.
Toorak Toff is now at $4, tightened in from $4.20 by TAB Sportsbet, while Ilovethiscity has eased from $4.50 to $4.60.
The first eight horses called out in Tuesday's draw came up with the outside eight barriers before the Peter Moody-trained Anacheeva drew gate one and remains a solid third pick at $8.
The David Payne-trained Masquerader ($10) drew nicely in three with Rekindled Interest firming from $10 to $9 after coming up with nine.
Bill Stutt Stakes winner Hollowlea ($15) drew 12 while Kudakulari ($15), one of Bart Cummings' two runners, drew wide in 15.
The Lee Freedman-trained Smokin' Joey ($17) fared worst with 16.