A revised weather forecast will be music to the ears of Tim Clark as he prepares for his first Derby Day ride on his flagship horse.Sydney-based Clark has never ridden during Flemington's famous Cup week and is hoping he can mark the occasion on Hot Danish with victory against reigning Horse of the Year Typhoon Tracy in Saturday's Myer Classic (1600m).The Sydney pin-up horse is capable on rain-affected tracks but trainer Les Bridge and Clark are convinced it dulls the acceleration she can displa
A revised weather forecast will be music to the ears of Tim Clark as he prepares for his first Derby Day ride on his flagship horse.
Sydney-based Clark has never ridden during Flemington's famous Cup week and is hoping he can mark the occasion on Hot Danish with victory against reigning Horse of the Year Typhoon Tracy in Saturday's Myer Classic (1600m).
The Sydney pin-up horse is capable on rain-affected tracks but trainer Les Bridge and Clark are convinced it dulls the acceleration she can display on firmer surfaces.
Clark labelled rain as his biggest worry ahead of the Myer but initial forecasts of heavy rain from Saturday morning have now been revised with major falls not expected until late afternoon and Saturday night.
Hot Danish won the 2008 Salinger Stakes on Derby Day but was left in Typhoon Tracy's wake when fifth in last year's Myer.
She gets another crack at her on Saturday, with the Peter Moody-trained mare the dominant $2.10 favourite to win again.
"She ran in the race last year and didn't run in the first three, but she had a few little minor niggling worries down there last year which didn't see her race to her best," Clark said.
"This year she's going really well and looked extremely well on Saturday (at Moonee Valley) so she is thriving down in Melbourne."
Clark was injured when Dan Nikolic piloted Hot Danish to win the Salinger and Nikolic was preferred as the mare's Melbourne jockey last spring.
The seven-year-old dual Group One winner finished 5-1/2 lengths behind glamour sprinter Black Caviar last Saturday in the Group Two Schweppes Stakes (1200m).
That followed Sydney victories in the Premiere Stakes (1200m) and The Shorts (1200m).
Even in defeat, Clark took positives out of the Moonee Valley performance last week.
"She didn't get around the track great and we got caught on the inside when I would have liked to have got rolling a little earlier," the jockey said.
"It wouldn't have changed the result, maybe the margin might have been a little bit less that's about all, but I still thought she hit the line quite well when she balanced up."
Clark believes Hot Danish will run the 1600 metres provided she gets conditions to suit.
"She's drawn wide (11) which isn't really a concern as she'll roll forward anyway, but the weather is going to be the worrying factor," he said.
"That's out of our control though and all I know is that she's come through the run really well and she's going to the races with no excuses."
While the Myer features the clash between Typhoon Tracy and Hot Danish, trainer Stuart Webb believes three-year-old Yosei is a great chance of upstaging her older rivals.
"She's got a great weight advantage, she gets eight kilograms off Typhoon Tracy and drops 6.5 kilos on what she carried to win the Thousand Guineas," Webb said.
Glen Boss, who replaces Michelle Payne who couldn't make the weight, has assured Webb he'll ride the filly at 49kg.
Typhoon Tracy has been ridden quieter in recent starts when she was still being set for the Cox Plate, but Webb expects the mare to roll forward in the Myer like she did when dominating the race last year.
He is hoping Yosei can sit just off her and use the weight pull to run past her in the straight.