Lollapalooza’s trademark is her booming late sprint and while co-trainer Graham Richardson is confident she is physically ready to unleash that today, he is worried about the lack of natural front-of-the-field speed from her rivals.
“There are some really nice fillies in there, including another one of ours called Fleeting Star, but I don’t see many leaders,” Richardson said.
“So the tempo could be a concern.
“If they roll along our filly will love it and she is ready to win but she will probably get back drawn 10 of 11 and that could be tricky.”
That is not to say there aren’t some good fillies in today’s Group 2, just not many who have led in their short careers.
Richardson said Fleeting Star isn’t miles behind Lollapalooza, while the Cody Cole-trained Circus Dancer is unbeaten in two starts and the form behind her in the O’Leary Stakes last start has stacked up since.
She has the tactical speed to stay handy from the ace draw and looms as a danger at each way odds.
Pulsatilla has looked promising and has winning Ellerslie form, Dance The Night smashed a maiden field at Pukekohe last start and Stella Ma Bella was as impressive leaving maidens at Te Aroha, so any of them could threaten.
Today’s race should provide a good line on how far the chasing pack are behind the established fillies or whether a genuine new challenger emerges.
Richardson and training partner Rogan Norvall open today’s programme with two reps in the juvenile race. Richardson said he likes Ballerina and Hawea and thinks they will improve immensely with today’s debuts.
Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.
