CRYSTAL Lily's owner David Moodie had been praying for an inside draw for Saturday's $1 million Golden Rose in Sydney but has decided to ''roll the dice'' and tackle the race anyway after she drew poorly yesterday in barrier 10, reports The Age/SMH.It says: Moodie had the option of keeping the Golden Slipper Stakes winner in Melbourne for a lesser race over a more suitable 1200-metre trip, but said that despite the 1400-metre trip, the lure of the big cheque, the group 1 status and the set weigh
CRYSTAL Lily's owner David Moodie had been praying for an inside draw for Saturday's $1 million Golden Rose in Sydney but has decided to ''roll the dice'' and tackle the race anyway after she drew poorly yesterday in barrier 10, reports The Age/SMH.
It says: Moodie had the option of keeping the Golden Slipper Stakes winner in Melbourne for a lesser race over a more suitable 1200-metre trip, but said that despite the 1400-metre trip, the lure of the big cheque, the group 1 status and the set weights conditions in Sydney proved irresistible.
''We don't want to take the chance of flattening her on a wet track and it is a lovely day in Sydney and the forecast is promising so we've really got to roll the dice and see what happens,'' he said.
''It's early in the spring so we've got the option of dropping her back [in distance] or pressing ahead [to the Thousand Guineas] depending on how she runs.''
Crystal Lily is yet to race beyond 1200 metres, so Moodie was desperate for her to draw an inside alley so her jockey Brett Prebble can find some cover in the race. He feared if she did not get cover, she could start pulling in the lesser tempo of a 1400-metre race.
''It's Brett's problem now,'' Moodie said. ''It's up to him to get some cover and bring her into the race at the right time.''