Trainer Tony Vasil will decide after trackwork on Thursday morning whether to back up in-form mare Bird Of Fire in Saturday's Group Two Sandown Classic.The four-year-old daughter of Stravinsky would be chasing a winning hat-trick having dead-heated with Miss Badoura in the Group Three Inglis Mile at Moonee Valley on Cox Plate day before winning the Group Two Matriarch Stakes (2000m) at Flemington last Saturday.After jumping from barrier 15, Bird Of Fire was taken to the lead and, well rated by M

Trainer Tony Vasil will decide after trackwork on Thursday morning whether to back up in-form mare Bird Of Fire in Saturday's Group Two Sandown Classic.

The four-year-old daughter of Stravinsky would be chasing a winning hat-trick having dead-heated with Miss Badoura in the Group Three Inglis Mile at Moonee Valley on Cox Plate day before winning the Group Two Matriarch Stakes (2000m) at Flemington last Saturday.

After jumping from barrier 15, Bird Of Fire was taken to the lead and, well rated by Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Blake Shinn, hung on to score by a half-head from Tan Tat De Lago.

"Tony will see how she works in the morning before making a final decision and if he thinks she's right he'll have a tilt at it," stable manager Sam Doran said.

"But if she doesn't run this week she'll go to the Eclipse Stakes the following week."

Bird Of Fire, who has won four races and been placed in another nine of her 19 starts, would be having her first 2400m test and her first weight-for-age start in the Classic.

To date the mare hasn't raced beyond 2000m but indications are she'll handle the extra distance.

Since the race was changed from the Sandown Cup to the Classic in 1999 the only mare to win it was Legible in 2003.

A strong field will line up in the Classic including last year's winner Zipping, Yalumba Stakes winner Douro Valley, Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Capecover, Australian Derby runner-up Red Ruler and New Zealand Oaks winner Boundless.

Railings will miss the race to be saved for next Wednesday's Ballarat Cup (2200m).

The Zabeel seven-year-old, now with the Mike Moroney stable, hasn't won since his 2005 Caulfield Cup victory but did run an encouraging second-up fifth to Annenkov in the Listed Emirates Airline Plate (1800m) at Flemington on Melbourne Cup day.