Talented sprinter Devil May Care will attempt to qualify for the Group One Goodwood via Saturday's D C McKay Stakes at Morphettville.Although all the mare's five wins have been at 1000 metres, Benalla trainer Wayne Nichols believes she can get further and is aiming to prove that point, starting with Saturday's Group Three race in Adelaide.The McKay is run over 1100 metres and a win or a second placing will exempt the five-year-old from the ballot on the Group One $300,000 Goodwood (1200m) at Mor

Talented sprinter Devil May Care will attempt to qualify for the Group One Goodwood via Saturday's D C McKay Stakes at Morphettville.

Although all the mare's five wins have been at 1000 metres, Benalla trainer Wayne Nichols believes she can get further and is aiming to prove that point, starting with Saturday's Group Three race in Adelaide.

The McKay is run over 1100 metres and a win or a second placing will exempt the five-year-old from the ballot on the Group One $300,000 Goodwood (1200m) at Morphettville on May 2.

Nichols scratched the mare from Saturday's Lort Smith Animal Hospital Hcp (1000m) at Flemington with the McKay in mind and has engaged Melbourne-based Dean Holland for the ride.

Holland has ridden Devil May Care at her past four starts for two wins.

"I'm not convinced she's just a 1000 metre horse. Every time she's run beyond that trip there have been circumstances why she didn't fire," Nichols said.

Only four of her 20 starts have been beyond 1000m, and she has failed three times at 1100 and once at 1200 metres.

"She pulled up with a bone chip in a hock after running over 1200 metres at Moonee Valley and had to have surgery," Nichols said.

"She's always showed me a heap of ability but I think she's a different horse this time in. I've always rated her and I think it's worth the punt because of the upside with her breeding-wise.

"It's a Group Three which if she won would be good for her as a broodmare and it would get her into the Goodwood which we've like to have a crack at too."

Nichols bred and is a part-owner of Devil May Care whose dam Destry Girl won 11 races for him and he has trained five of her progeny to win races.

He also has a Street Cry two-year-old half-brother to Devil May Care and a yearling sister to the mare.

The Goodwood was changed from a handicap to a set weights and penalties race after 2007 with international sprint star Takeover Target carrying 58.5kg to victory last year.