By MIKE DILLON
Two very fortunate people were trackside watching Sunline run away with yesterday's $A200,000 Memsie Stakes at Caulfield - rival trainers Frank Ritchie and Colin Alderson.
As they congratulated trainers Trevor and Stephen McKee they were both quickly granted their life's wish - to avoid Sunline in the $A350,000 Underwood Stakes.
The McKees are now fairly sure Sunline will have her next start in the $A213,000 Feehan Stakes at Moonee Valley on Saturday week rather than the 1800m Underwood at Caulfield a week later.
Which means the Ritchie-trained Showella and Alderson's Sky Heights will have it that much easier in the Underwood.
The decision to look at the Feehan rather than the Underwood Stakes is neither the timing of the race nor the distance, it is the track itself.
Although she won yesterday, the McKees know Sunline is vulnerable at Caulfield.
Sunline was beaten at her only previous try at Caulfield and rider Greg Childs said during yesterday's race he was never confident, certainly not as confident as those who took the $1.30 dividend.
Childs placed most of the blame for that on the surface of the Caulfield track rather than the configuration.
"I've ridden her on all types of tracks, but she's never struck footing like that before.
"It was very greasy and she was never handling it.
"We got away with it and I'm delighted we did, but it was not as easy as it looked, I was very worried for a while."
Sunline worked away to win quite comfortably, but did not dash clear of the opposition when asked for her home-straight sprint as she had done when winning the Manikato Stakes in her first start this campaign.
"She always shows dash when she's fresh and I wasn't too worried about the lack of it today," said Stephen McKee.
"I was just pleased she won because traditionally her second-up run has been a bit ordinary."
What would have worried the Sunline camp most was if the mare had struggled in the footing to the extent she had had to be ridden hard to win.
The McKees were desperate for Sunline to have as soft a run as possible.
The fortunate aspect was Childs was required to show Sunline the whip behind the saddle only once and that was a token gesture
McKee said a final decision on the Feehan will be made after talking with Childs in the next few days.
"I'm pretty sure Greg will agree that she is probably not that comfortable around Caulfield. Moonee Valley may be the better option."
Two of the best horses in the field behind Sunline filled the minor placings, Umrum trailing to the home bend and fighting strongly and Oliver Twist working to the finish well to take third.
McKee said there is considerable improvement in Sunline heading into the Cox Plate.
"She is still three weeks off blooming. It's so cold in Melbourne at the moment her coat has grown half an inch since she has been here.
"It's been so mild at home that she had a magnificent coat before she came over."
But the shabbiest coats of all at Caulfield yesterday were the ones worn by the bookmakers who made a race of it for punters by offering $1.30 when realistically $1.10 was Sunline's rightful price.
Racing: Sunline to steer clear of Caulfield
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