"I got her to get her head down a little bit, which was good and the feeling that she gave me was terrific. It gave me a good confidence boost going into the weekend."
Rawiller said in the absence of champion mare Winx, who retired from racing last year when winning the Queen Elizabeth for a third year in succession, the race looked to be very open and competitive.
"It's a great race," he said. "It looks as good a rendition of the Queen Elizabeth as I have seen and without a Winx, everyone has got a genuine chance.
"I think the whole meeting on Saturday looks unbelievable on paper and for everyone that can tune into it, it's going to be a good day of racing."
With rain still lingering in Sydney, the Randwick track remains a Soft7, which will not be a bother to Verry Elleegant, while a truly run race would also suit the former Kiwi.
"We haven't really had great drying weather since the weekend," Rawiller said.
"It will be a very fair and even track but it will still make the 2000m very genuine and with the bigger field that we've got this year, it will be a real race."
Verry Elleegant won two of her first three starts in New Zealand and despite her sale and relocation to Australia, her original syndicate of owners, which includes former trainer Nick Bishara, remain in the ownership.
The lightly-framed mare has won in excess of A$2.7 million in prizemoney to date and is rated a $6 chance to snare the lion's share of the A$2 million prizemoney of the Queen Elizabeth.
– NZ Racing Desk
